Most of the college football world spent their Friday night frantically reworking their travel plans after an FAA ground stop. Colorado spent it ending No. 14 Houston’s College Football Playoff hopes.
The Buffaloes beat the Cougars 42-32 at home to earn the biggest win of a losing season. Given that Colorado fans stormed the field after a win over unranked Kansas State, their only other Big 12 victory this season, it was no surprise when they did the same after the final whistle Friday.
It was Colorado’s first victory against a top-15 opponent since 2007, when it beat No. 3 Oklahoma.
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The victory is devastating for Houston, who entered the game with a 7-2 record and an outside chance in the CFP. Its only other losses were to No. 2 Utah and No. 12 Texas Tech, both on the road.
On the other hand, winning could very well be the biggest argument for Colorado head coach Deion Sanders to keep his job after this season. There was talk that the well-known coach was on the hot seat after the team fell to 3-6, and the program responded with arguably the biggest win of his tenure.
The result wasn’t close either. Houston opened the game by scoring on its first four possessions to go up 20-7, but Colorado responded with 28 straight points between the second and third quarters. All the surprise alerts were triggered when they took a 35-20 lead on a Kaneal Sweetyne touchdown run.
Houston got a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but a failed two-point conversion kept it a two-score game. Colorado then made it a three-point play with an 11-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a Richard Young touchdown run.
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Colorado had 249 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 39 carries, with Young doing most of the work with 21 carries, 99 yards and two touchdowns. This is the program’s highest total since September 3, 2021 against Northern Colorado.
Quarterback Isaac Wilson also went 17-for-25 with 217 yards, one passing touchdown and one interception. The Cougars actually outscored Colorado 477-466, but two costly turnovers and poor timing put the game out of reach.
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