The Colorado Buffaloes entered the Folsom Field last Saturday night in search of a season-defining win. Instead, they were left searching for answers after falling 31-28 to the No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats.
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Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders impressed against K-State’s defense, completing 85% of his passes (34/40) for 388 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He led his team back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit but could not pull them to a last-second victory.
Sanders’ shortcoming, in part, was due to Colorado being drastically undermanned on their final drive. Earlier in the game, the Buffaloes lost four wide receivers to injury. Three of them – Omarion Miller (8-145-0), Jimmy Horn Jr. (3-20-0), and Terrell Timmons Jr. (1-6-0) – combined for 12 catches and 171 yards. The fourth was Heisman Trophy contender Travis Hunter, who didn’t play in the second half.
Earlier today, Sanders talked on his podcast about how the absence of those four weapons impacted the Buffaloes’ final offensive possession. He believes the contest’s result would have been different if they were on the field.
“Those are guys we spent all summer really working with, [getting timing], getting everything going. When everybody was in, you seen we [were] able to drive down the field as a machine… [when] each guy went down, it hurt. It hurt.”
Miller’s ankle injury required surgery. In his Tuesday press appearance, head coach Deion Sanders reported the sophomore receiver “[likely won’t] be back this season.” Colorado’s signal-caller shared his dismay at that news later in the episode.
“What happened to [Miller]… that was real sad because I was looking forward to playing with him this season. I don’t know if he’s coming back or not… but he’s definitely a big impact guy… whenever he got his opportunity, he took advantage… that’s what’s really sad.”
Hunter and Horn Jr. will both return on Saturday for the Buffs. There has been no official update on Timmons Jr.’s status.
Shedeur Sanders discusses Colorado’s tough loss
The Wildcats prevailed over the Buffaloes courtesy of a 50-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 remaining in regulation. The late connection unwound all of Sanders’ second-half work, which included 21 of his team’s 28 points. Sanders was happy with how the offense picked up its pace but pointed to their lack of first-half scoring and inability to run the ball as reasons for the defeat.
“We [were] able to throw the ball… we really got in our groove [and] we had momentum. We just gotta start faster… [and], of course, we gotta establish the run game. It’s hard to play football without a run game.”
Colorado gets the chance to rebound against a different set of Wildcats this weekend, as they’re slated to face Arizona at 4:00 p.m. E.T. on FOX.
