Deion Sanders at CSU, Colorado: Live updates, highlights, scores
Fort Collins, Colo. – Colorado Buffalo fans and alumni have always had a bit of a fondness for in-state rival Colorado State.
Fairly or not, they generally view Colorado State as a younger half-brother school where students often go to college as a second choice after being denied admission to CU.
But now comes an unusual threat to that air of superiority – a rare football game between Buffalo and the Rams on Colorado State's home turf. Tonight's game at 7:30 p.m. on CBS will be the first time since 1996 that the Buffs have agreed to play in Fort Collins — a span of 25 games in which the game was played 19 times at a neutral site in Denver and five times on Colorado's campus in Boulder.
The game also comes at a critical time for Colorado coach Deion Sanders. His team is 1-1 after a 28-10 loss at rival Nebraska last week.
Another loss against another rival would raise big questions about his team's progress in his second year as coach.
On the other hand, a win over the Rams (1-1) would see the Buffs bounce back from an upset loss and give the team momentum heading into next week's Big 12 Conference play against Baylor.
A big issue for Colorado — again — is whether the team's offensive line and running game can ease the pressure on Dion's son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Last week, he was sacked five times while the running game produced 16 yards on 22 carries.
Follow the game here as USA Today shares sports highlights and updates.
Colorado 21, Colorado State 3: Buffalo Travis Hunter intercepts TD
Fort Collins, Colo. – Shade's Sanders-Travis Hunter show resumes for Colorado.
The Buffaloes now led Colorado State 21-3 with 10:11 left in the third quarter after a 2-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Hunter, their sensational two-way star.
The score was set up by an interception by Colorado safety Preston Hodge, who picked off a pass in coverage by Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolossi. The turnover gave the Buffs a first down at CSU's 12-yard line after the Buffs offense sputtered on its opening possession after halftime.
Sanders is 25-for-34 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Hunter had 10 catches for 68 yards with a score.
Halftime: Colorado 14, Colorado State 3
Fort Collins, Colo. – Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders seems to be finding a groove after a slow start and has led the Buffaloes to a 14-3 win here against Colorado State.
This time he led another touchdown drive down the Buffs downfield that ended with another touchdown catch by receiver LaJohante Wester – 34 yards up the middle of the field with 58 seconds left in the first half.
It was the second touchdown drive for Colorado after it failed to score on its first three possessions. Both drives went for at least 84 yards and both ended with touchdown catches by Wester, a transfer from Florida Atlantic. He has three catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
Sanders finished the first half 20-for-27 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, the Colorado defense held Colorado State to 1-of-6 on third down conversions until the Rams' final possession of the first half, when they missed a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
Rams quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolossi is 6-for-10 passing for 52 yards.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders praised his linemen on both sides of the ball in an interview with CBS at halftime. The Buffs haven't given up a quarterback sack since last week's six-loss loss against Nebraska.
Colorado gets the ball to start the second half.
Colorado 7, Colorado State 3: Buffaloes take first lead
Fort Collins, Colo. — Colorado finally put together a sustained scoring drive on its fourth possession of the game, going 85 yards in 12 plays, with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shadeur Sanders to receiver Lazhonte Wester.
The score came on a first-down slant pattern in the middle of the end zone and helped give the Buffaloes a 7-3 lead with 5:51 left before halftime.
Sanders is now 16-for-20 passing for 91 yards and a touchdown. Six receivers have caught the ball from Sanders so far, led by Travis Hunter with six catches for 31 yards.
Justin Marshall injured
Fort Collins, Colo. — Justin Marshall had to be helped off the field with 12:25 left in the second quarter after being hit in the head by a tackle by Colorado linebacker Lavonta Bentley. It's unclear if Marshall was suffering from an injury, but he was flat on his back on the field at halftime.
He had 45 yards on eight carries before the injury.
Who is the Colorado State kicker?
Colorado State kicker Jordan Noyes is one of college football's oldest players — in fact, the second-oldest player in the game, according to his university bio. The 32-year-old Englishman is a father of three and in his fifth season of college football (he previously kicked at Utah). The Rams' website says Noyes played football, soccer, rugby and did gymnastics back in the UK.
Colorado State 3, Colorado 0: End of first quarter
Fort Collins, Colo. — At the end of the first quarter, Colorado State led Colorado 3-0. Colorado missed a field goal and didn't get much offense going. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is 6-for-9 passing for 25 yards behind a revamped offensive line. Freshman running back Micah Welch has 36 rushing yards on three carries.
Colorado already has three penalties for 20 yards.
Colorado missed a field goal
Fort Collins, Colo. — Colorado kicker Alejandro Mata missed a 44-yard field goal wide with 2:52 left in the first quarter, putting the Buffs up 3-0 against Colorado State.
On the bright side for Colorado, it already has more rushing yards (36) than Nebraska (16) last week. Freshman running back Micah Welch has all three of those carries, running behind a new lineup on the offensive line for the Buffs.
A big change for the Buffs is a new starting right tackle — Philip Houston, a transfer from Florida International. He replaces Tyler Brown, who moved to left guard in place of former left guard Justin Myers, who transferred from Texas-El Paso. Coach Deion Sanders hinted at changes to the offensive line after the Buffs gave up six sacks against Nebraska last week.
Colorado State scores first
Fort Collins, Colo. — Colorado State struck first against Colorado, taking a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard field goal with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
Colorado State running back Justin Marshall had two big runs on a 48-yard drive. There was an inside-zone scamper to the right for a 27-yard gain at the Colorado 28-yard line. He then eluded defenders on another run to the left on third-and-1 for an 11-yard gain. That put the Rams at the 8-yard-line before quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicholsey took a snap and down to the 14.
Colorado State has outgained Colorado 54 yards to 2 yards so far, but Colorado has only had the ball once.
Deion Sanders makes a grand entrance
Fort Collins, Colo. — One of Deion Sanders' pregame rituals is to do a lap around the perimeter of the field more than an hour before the game. On Saturday, about 70 minutes before game time, he walked out of the stadium tunnel dressed in gray sweats, straight across the end zone and into a corner where Colorado State students booed him loudly. One had a sign that read, “Coach Past His Prime.” As Sanders marched to the sidelines, they also chanted a profanity: “(translated) CU,” much like they did last week in Nebraska.
College football schedule week 3, top 25
Friday
- No. 15 Kansas State 31, No. 18 Arizona 7
saturday
- No. 1 Georgia at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m., ABC
- No. 3 Texas vs. UTSA, 7 p.m., ESPN
- No. 4 Alabama 42, Wisconsin 10
- No. 5 Ole Miss at Wake Forest, 6:30 p.m., CW
- No. 8 Missouri 27, Boston College 21
- No. 9 Tennessee vs. Kent State, 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
- No. 6 Oregon 49, Oregon State 14
- No. 12 Miami (Fla.) vs. Ball State, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
- No. 10 Utah 38, Utah State 21
- No. 14 Oklahoma State 45, Tulsa 10
- No. 13 Oklahoma 34, Tulane 19
- No. 17 LSU 36, South Carolina 33
- No. 16 Michigan 28, Arkansas State 18
- No. 18 Notre Dame 66, Purdue 7
- No. 23 Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa, 7:30 p.m., BTN
What time is the Colorado-Colorado State game?
Colorado-Colorado State starts Saturday night at 7:30 pm ET at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
Colorado – How to see Colorado State
Colorado-Colorado State will be broadcast on CBS.
Colorado injury update: Shiloh Sanders out
The Buffs will be without their leading tackler from last year, safety Shiloh Sanders, as well as their leading rusher this year, Dalan Haden. Sanders had surgery on his arm after suffering the injury against Nebraska. His father, coach Deion Sanders, said he could be out two to three weeks. Hayden leads the team in rushing with 52 yards but will likely be sidelined Saturday with an unspecified injury, Deion Sanders said this week.
Sophomore safety Carter Stoutmyer is expected to start in place of Shiloh Sanders after starting one game as a freshman in 2023. At running back, the Buffs have several options, including freshman Micah Welch, former walk-on Charlie Offerdahl and Arkansas transfer Isaiah Augustev.
Future series between Colorado and Colorado State?
The two teams won't meet again until 2029 but will play six games between then and 2038, according to Colorado's future schedule list. Three of those future games are scheduled for Boulder, with the other three in Fort Collins — a departure from the recent practice of playing games only in Denver or Boulder.
Colorado leads the all-time series 68-22-2. Since the series resumed after a long hiatus in 1983, the game has been played in Fort Collins only three times out of 33 games – in 1987, 1988 and 1996. Colorado won each of those road games. The Buffaloes haven't lost in Fort Collins since 1955.
Colorado vs. Colorado State 'Personal Again'
Deion Sanders made sure to show his team video this week showing two Colorado State players making inflammatory comments in an interview with CBS Colorado. CBS Colorado didn't release the interview until this week, but it was actually filmed before the season on Aug. 14, as confirmed by CSU to USA TODAY Sports.
In the interview, CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi talks to Sanders about pursuing the Buffaloes and how CSU came close to beating CU last year before losing 43-35 in overtime. The Rams led by 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“It shows that the hype, the media train, only gets you so far,” Fowler-Nicolossi said on Aug. 14.
He added, “We'll see how far Instagram followers get them.”
CSU receiver Torey Horton said the Rams are coming for revenge on Aug. 14.
He said, “We hate one of them” and “We should have killed them.”
“It makes it personal again,” Sanders said when asked about those comments on the Colorado Football Coaches Show on Thursday.
Sanders said he had “of course” shown the comments to his team. Last year's game was also “personal,” as CSU coach Jay Norvell took a verbal shot at Sanders' habit of wearing sunglasses and hats in the presence of “adults.”
College Football Bold Predictions, Week 3
Check out USA Today Sports' complete predictions for the week 3
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