Colorado will be bowling in Year 2 under Deion Sanders.

The Buffaloes earned their sixth win and bowl appearance late Saturday night, earning a 34-23 home victory over Cincinnati that also could help them become a Big 12 contender next month.

Shedeur Sanders broke a school record by completing his first 15 passes of the game, throwing for 323 yards and scoring three total touchdowns to lead the Buffaloes. The win capped the star quarterback’s second season in Boulder with the program’s first bowl game since 2020.

“It’s cute, it really is. Because we really want that, but that’s not the only thing we’re looking for,” Deion Sanders said. “That’s one of the hurdles that we’re going to jump over and get over.

“That’s a huge hurdle that we’re happy with, we’re excited, but that’s not the end goal for us. That’s the beginning, but we’re grateful and appreciative that the hard work is being noticed.”

Shedeur Sanders said he had the flu during the week and was only able to practice once before facing the Bearcats. He completed 25 of 30 passes on the night and connected with two-way star Travis Hunter nine times for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Afterwards, his father wondered why he “wasn’t even mentioned” in the Heisman Trophy race.

“I don’t care, I really don’t. It’s just strange,” Sanders said. “It’s just funny to me. I just think it’s just ignorant, but it’s funny to us because Shedeur doesn’t care. Shedeur wants to get drafted in a beautiful city. He wants to win. That’s what he’s thinking about. That’s he doesn’t.” I’m not thinking about the damn Heisman, man.

“Now Travis is the best college football player in the country. We all know that. Why are we even questioning that? What are we doing? When will that change? So what are the criteria? Someone has to say what the criteria are.” criteria of that prestigious award. Because we’re looking at the best high school football player, there’s never been a Travis Hunter.

For the second straight week, Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) was able to balance its offensive attack with a 100-yard rushing performance. Isaiah Augustave, a transfer from Arkansas, led the way with 93 of the Buffaloes’ 123 yards in what Deion Sanders called a “conscious effort” to run the ball more.

The Buffs scored on five of their first six offensive drives to open a 31-14 lead and held off a fourth-quarter rally by Cincinnati (5-3, 3-2) in a battle of Big 12 contenders that surprised after being chosen to finish 11th and 14th respectively in the league’s preseason media poll.

Colorado had not reached six wins since 2016 and last reached a bowl game at the end of the Pac-12’s pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Buffaloes were one of only two teams in the conference to agree to participate in a bowl game, losing 55–23 to Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl to finish 4–2 that season.

“We’re not going into the season saying, ‘Oh, we’re only going to win six games,’” Shedeur Sanders said. “That’s not what happened. The fact that we did it just relies on our process that we use. We’re not even reaching our peak. Nowhere close.”

After a 4-8 debut season and another season of rebuilding the roster through the transfer portal, Sanders has positioned Colorado to enter the Big 12 championship race.

Undefeated BYU (8-0, 5-0) and Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) remain atop the Big 12 conference standings, with Kansas State (7-1, 4-1) and Colorado behind them. Kansas State defeated the Buffaloes 31-28 in Boulder on Oct. 12, but Colorado will not play BYU or Iowa State in the regular season.

A bye week follows for the Buffaloes, with Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State remaining on the schedule. All four of Colorado’s remaining opponents lost on Saturday.

Deion Sanders said his team is focusing on one game at a time and not thinking about a College Football Playoff run, and followed that up with a plea to reporters and coaches who vote in the weekly polls. Five teams from the Associated Press top 25 losing on Saturday could potentially pave the way for Colorado to climb the rankings.

“We don’t even want to be ranked. Don’t rank us, please,” he said. “We don’t like that. We’d rather sit in the back, in the dark, just chilling in the cut. We’re good, we’re cool, we’re straight. So don’t feel pressure to rank us.”

After the win, Deion Sanders planned to present the game ball to Peggy Coppom, Colorado’s 99-year-old superfan who has been attending games since the 1940s. Sanders vowed to bring “Miss Peggy” to a bowl game as a gift for her 100th birthday.

Coppom was unable to attend the Cincinnati game because of COVID-19, Sanders said, but Colorado athletic director Rick George called her from the locker room after the win.

“We told her she’s going to a bowl,” Sanders said. “Now we want to make sure she goes to the best possible bowl she can possibly go to. That means a lot to us, it really does. She was so grateful and appreciative. She means so much to this program, so we’re glad we could honor her in that.

“Now we just have to take a private plane to make sure she’s comfortable on the road.” Yes, we’re not putting Peggy on a regular plane, I promise you that.’