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    • Colorado’s Deion Sanders wanted a ‘decisive’ win for Colorado State
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    Colorado’s Deion Sanders wanted a ‘decisive’ win for Colorado State

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    Colorado coach voiced his displeasure with Colorado State after beating the Rams with an electric display from two-way star Travis Hunter

    FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Travis Hunter ran off the field after Saturday night’s game against Colorado State and stopped to sign some autographs for fans.

    One of them tossed him a Colorado helmet to sign from the front row of the end zone. Others tossed him jerseys and gear, all hoping to get a piece of what happened here in Canvas Stadium — another virtuoso football performance by a generational star in a 28-9 victory for the Colorado Buffaloes.

    After the game, his coach, Deion Sanders, called Hunter “phenomenal,” as always. His quarterback, son Shedeur Sanders, said “there’s no ceiling” on Hunter’s abilities.

    But even Hunter himself admitted he has a limit after catching 13 passes for 100 yards, scoring two touchdowns, making five tackles and grabbing one interception. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Buffs’ two-way star pulled himself out of the game to catch his breath after taking down a Colorado State player from behind.

    “That’s probably the first time I’ve done that,” said Hunter, who rarely came off the field on offense or defense Saturday. “That’s probably the first time. Because normally, if I take him down, I’d be able to catch my breath and get back up, but that time I was just, I don’t know what happened.”

    Deion Sanders wanted a decisive win against Colorado State

    Aside from that minor mishap, Hunter said, “I feel good.” He said he planned to take an ice bath in Boulder afterward.

    “And go home to a nice cooked meal,” said Shedeur Sanders.

    It was that kind of night for the Buffaloes (2-1). Coach Deion Sanders almost seemed relieved and didn’t mind beating the rival Rams (1-2) in front of a sold-out crowd of 40,099.

    “We just wanted it to be decisive,” Deion Sanders said.

    Why was Deion Sanders angry at Colorado State after the game?

    He gave several reasons, including some provocative comments from Colorado State receiver Tory Horton and quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. The comments were circulated a few days before the game this week, but were actually recorded in a preseason interview on Aug. 14.

    For Sanders, it didn’t matter. He called the race “personal.”

    “We just want to play some football,” he said. “The disrespect was uncalled for all week. Some of their players were lashing out at the whole program.”

    In the August 14 interview, both Colorado State players joked about the hype surrounding Deion Sanders and the Buffs.

    “We’ll see how far Instagram followers take them,” Fowler-Nicolosi said at the time.

    Deion Sanders Asks: ‘How Dumb Is That?’

    On Saturday, Fowler-Nicolosi had more to say. After trailing 14-3 and walking out of bounds, the Rams quarterback had a few words with Hunter and made a gesture with his arm that suggested Hunter was too small.

    “How dumb is that?” Deion Sanders asked afterward. “This is Travis Hunter. Man, this is Travis Hunter. This is Travis Hunter! Who does that? I would not let my kids do that, and y’all know that. And that needs to be said.”

    Sanders also cited a pregame incident during warmups in which he said Colorado receivers coach Jason Phillips was either bumped or elbowed by someone from Colorado State.

    Deion Sanders also called it “inappropriate.”

    “I just pray that our children never behave that way, because I know you would have a holiday if they did,” Sanders told the news media.

    Is that why Deion Sanders kept his starters in the game until the end?

    Sanders and Colorado could have pulled their offensive starters from the game in the final minutes and then run the ball on every play to run out the clock with a 28-9 lead. But they didn’t. Instead, Shedeur Sanders threw a pair of deep balls on Colorado’s final series and attempted passes on five of his last seven plays.

    Deion Sanders said afterward that it wasn’t his intention to retaliate for CSU’s behavior. He said he just wanted to score.

    “The game is about scoring, right?” Sanders said. “I don’t know the protocol… As long as the other team is trying to score, we’re trying to score. That’s my rule.”

    Shedeur Sanders completed 36 of 49 passes for 310 yards with four touchdowns – two to receiver LaJohntay Western in the first half and two to Hunter in the second half. The Buffs led 14-3 at halftime and gave up just one sack all game after giving up six in a 28-10 loss at Nebraska last week.

    What happened to Colorado’s offensive line?

    Six of CU’s offensive linemen appeared at the postgame press conference and formed a wall behind Hunter and Shedeur Sanders at the microphones.

    This was the best performance in a long time. Last year, Colorado allowed the second-most sacks in the country (56) when Shedeur Sanders ended the season with a broken back.

    “I’m really proud,” Deion Sanders said. “I mean, when we walked out of the door (last week), I heard how bad we were. And I hate to use that word and that terminology, but that was said. … These guys stood up. Come on, man, we could hear it. We got ears. We got two ears, and we heard all that crap, and (how) we can end the season with one damn loss. You know a lot of people have lost one game in college football?”

    Colorado changed its lineup on Saturday, adding a new starting right tackle, Phillip Houston, a transfer from Florida International, replacing Tyler Brown, who moved to left guard.

    “Our front line dominated on both sides of the ball and we came away with the (win),” Hunter said.

    Why This Win Was Crucial For Deion Sanders

    A loss to Colorado State could have been a disaster for him after being dominated at Nebraska last week. It would have raised questions about Sanders’ progress in his second year as coach, especially after the Buffs beat both Nebraska and Colorado State in 2023.

    “That was the whole theme of the week: How do you respond?” Deion Sanders said of the loss to Nebraska.

    The Buffs now enter Big 12 Conference play with momentum and return home next Saturday to play Baylor (2-1). It will be their fourth consecutive nationally televised primetime game, this time on Fox after their previous three games were on ESPN, NBC and CBS.

    `For the first time in the modern era of college football history’

    It helps that their defense is finding a rhythm, too. Colorado has given up just nine points in the last six quarters. The Buffs also had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in their seventh straight win over the Rams on Saturday.

    “You can see this arrow is going in the right direction, especially defensively,” Deion Sanders said. “And you know, everybody knows the formula: You protect 2 (Shedeur), you go. It’s simple.”

    And then there’s Hunter. He set a school record with his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game. He also did something else that can’t really be recorded in the history books, with 13 receptions for 100 yards, five tackles, an interception with a 38-yard return and a pass breakup while playing 123 of 138 snaps from scrimmage, according to Colorado.

    “This is believed to be the first time in modern college football history that a statistic like this has been released,” Colorado’s communications department said in an email after the game.

    Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email address: [email protected]

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