Woelk: Buffs Deliver Their Answer On The Field

FORT COLLINS — That's how you answer the critics.

After spending a week listening to naysayers in the wake of last week's loss to Nebraska, Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes let their play on the field do their talking Saturday night.

Their answer? A 28-9 pummeling of rival Colorado State on the Rams' home field, a game that wasn't as close as the score might indicate.

The Buffs dominated every aspect of the game.

A maligned offensive line allowed just one sack — a meaningless slide behind the line of scrimmage late in the game — and also opened up holes for a 100-yard rushing effort, CU's first since midway through last season.

The defense held CSU to a field goal for three quarters, forced four turnovers, recorded two sacks and rendered the Rams ineffective for most of the game.

And, of course, the Sanders & Hunter Show proved spectacular. Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Two-way star Travis Hunter caught 13 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns — his fourth straight game with at least 100 yards receiving — while also recording an interception, five tackles and a pass breakup on defense.

But CU's two big names were far from the only contributors.

Wide receivers LaJohntay Wester (5 catches, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Will Sheppard (7 catches, 61 yards) did their parts. Freshman running back Micah Welch ran nine times for 69 yards, including a 25-yard gain on his first collegiate carry.

Defensively, linebacker LaVonta Bentley was a beast against the run, finishing with five tackles — one for loss — as well as a forced fumble and recovery that halted CSU on the doorstep of CU's goal line. Cornerback DJ McKinney had seven tackles and three pass breakups. Preston Hodge had an interception and BJ Green II added a fumble recovery.

Simply, the Buffs provided a resounding answer to the myriad questions that hounded them after their loss last week.

Were the Buffs perfect?

Of course not. They finished with 12 penalties for 111 yards. They missed another field goal. They did give up some big plays on the ground, including a 62-yard run. They gave up one turnover.

But overall, their effort delivered a big step forward, a confidence-boosting performance in a game that Coach Prime admitted became personal.

Everyone at CU heard the interview during the week in which CSU players disparaged the Buffs. They heard the catcalls as they entered the stadium and a CU assistant coach was reportedly elbowed by a Rams player during warmups. Even during the game — as they were losing — CSU players apparently couldn't avoid some trash talk.

But the Buffs answered with a solid effort on both sides of the ball. CU won the battle of the trenches, dominated the game and ignored the empty talk.

"We did what we needed to do, come out here with a victory," Coach Prime said. "We just really wanted it to be decisive."

Decisive it was. The Buffs spent their week addressing the issues that needed to be addressed, then delivered on national television.

Now the Buffs must build on the effort and continue the trend of improvement. Dead ahead is a 6 p.m. matchup next Saturday at Folsom Field with what looks to be an improved Baylor squad. The Bears pounded Air Force on Saturday, 31-3, and will arrive in Boulder with their own share of confidence.

But what the Buffs learned on Saturday will be valuable. Hard work, a willingness to address mistakes and a desire to correct them paid off.

If Coach Prime's team can continue to make those kinds of strides, the Buffaloes could be in for a very productive season.

NOTES:

Travis Hunter caught 13 passes for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, had 5 tackles, an interception with a 38-yard return and a pass breakup while playing 123 of 138 snaps from scrimmage.

- It's believed to be the first time in the modern era of college football history a stat line like that has happened.

- He set a CU record with his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game.

- He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards at Colorado (84 rec., 1,063 yards, 10 TDs)

- He tied his career high for receptions and had his fourth 10-reception game.

Shedeur Sanders was 36-of-49 passing for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns in his 40th career start.

- He surpassed the 11,000 yard mark in his career (999-of-1,452 for 11,312 yards, 106 TDs, 19 INT) and the 4,000 yard mark at Colorado (383-of-551 for 4,229 yards, 36 TDs, 5 INT).

- It's his seventh 300 yard game at Colorado and 16th of his career.

- It's his sixth 4-touchdown game at Colorado and 15th of his career.

LaJohntay Wester, the NCAA's active career leader in receptions, had 5 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. He now has 266 career receptions for 2,861 yards and 24 touchdowns.

- The offensive line paved the way for 310 passing yards and 19 rushes for 109 yards, averaging 5.7 per rush, allowing one sack and one hurry on 49 passing attempts.

- The defense came up big against the Rams, forcing turnovers on three straight third quarter drives as the Buffs took a 28-3 lead with two touchdowns on offense. CU forced four turnovers in all, interceptions from Preston Hodge and Hunter and fumbles from LaVonta Bentley (forced and recovered) and B.J. Green (recovered).

- Attendance. The all-time CSU record crowd of 40,099 is the first sellout in Canvas Stadium history but the 13th sellout CU has played in front of in 15 games of the Coach Prime era.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

LaVonta Bentley

BJ Green II

Preston Hodge

Travis Hunter

DJ McKinney

Shedeur Sanders

Will Sheppard

Micah Welch

LaJohntay Wester