Deion Sanders needed a win like this, and his team went out and got it. Colorado upset No. 14 Houston 42-32 Friday night in Boulder, the Buffaloes’ first win over an AP top-15 team since beating No. 3 Oklahoma in 2007, per the Associated Press via CBS Sports. Fans stormed the field at Folsom Field.
Colorado trailed 20-7 late in the first half, then ripped off 28 straight points. The Buffs ran for 249 yards, the most of the Sanders era, and scored five rushing touchdowns for the first time since 2020. DeKalon Taylor broke a 67-yard run, Richard Young added a 38-yarder and JaQuail Smith went 32. Isaac Wilson also hit Joseph “JoJo” Williams for a 53-yard touchdown against an all-out blitz, as ClutchPoints reported. When Wilson limped off in the third quarter, true freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne scored on his first snap.
Playing for Prime
The “PlayForPrime” hashtag was everywhere before kickoff, and the players backed it up. “These kids are resilient,” Sanders said afterward. On the noise about his job, he kept it simple: “I’ve been around noise all my life. This isn’t new.”
The IAHHM Take
Coach Prime has been a culture story since his Jackson State days, when he put HBCU football on a national stage that it had been denied for years. So whatever you think of the results in Boulder, a lot of folks in our community were watching this one closely.
This win doesn’t erase a rough season. Colorado is 4-6 and has to win out at Cincinnati and beyond to make a bowl, and Sanders is 20-27 overall at CU. But it proves the “Go-Go” offense can actually go, and it shows a locker room that still plays hard for its coach. Houston drops to 7-3 and takes a big hit to its playoff hopes.
Speaking of HBCU pride, catch up on Fayetteville State’s No. 1 Marching Bronco Xpress. So is Prime’s seat cooled off for real, or is it just one night?
Sources: CBS Sports / AP, ClutchPoints
