‘Resilient’ Colorado avoids Rocky Mountain fall
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
BOULDER, Colo. — On a day when Boulder became the center of the college football world, No. 18 Colorado escaped with a 43-35 double-overtime win against Colorado State to finish nonconference play undefeated.
There were several moments where things almost fell apart for the Buffaloes, only for them to roar back to keep the game alive. “We showed that we were resilient. We showed that we would fight,” coach Deion Sanders said. “We showed that we had no surrender or give up in us and that’s a lot for a team that’s fairly new.”
Things were most dire when Colorado State, leading 28-20, punted and pinned the Buffs at their own 2-yard line with two minutes and six seconds to play. For a Colorado offense that had gone eight straight drives without a touchdown, the prospect of needing to go 98 yards and then convert a two-point conversion might have seemed insurmountable. Some fans began trickling out of Folsom Field.
Those who left missed quarterback Shedeur Sanders engineer a seven-play touchdown drive, capped by a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Horn Jr.
“Well, we do it in practice all the time, so it’s not really a surprise to us,” Sanders said of the 98-yard drive. “We like these high-pressure moments and I guess that’s what we live in.”
Mikey Harrison caught the two-point conversion then both touchdowns in overtime, leading CU fans to rush the field for the second straight week.
“Last week, I stuck around on the field a little bit, but this week I went straight to the locker room because it gets pretty crazy out there,” said safety Shilo Sanders, who forced two turnovers, including a pick-six. “So, we’re making improvement off the field, making smart decisions.”
The aftermath also featured a much-anticipated handshake between Colorado State coach Jay Norvell and Sanders, in the wake of comments Norvell made earlier in the week that were critical of Sanders’ habit for wearing sunglasses and hats in press conferences. Neither coach divulged what was said during the brief interaction they had among the crowd.
“I’m happy for the brother. I really am,” Sanders said. “I’m happy that they fought, that they played a good game. I’m happy he’s the head coach. I’m happy for any brother that’s doing it and is successful man. I truly am. I don’t know where all this stuff comes from. I had to respond because — my mama taught me that.”
But Sanders also admitted there was a moment during the game, he allowed the thought of Norvell getting the best of him enter his mind. “Truthfully, there’s one point in the game. I said we can’t let this dude win,” Sanders said. “There ain’t no way we let this dude win. This press conference is going to be unbearable if we let this dude win.”
Folsom Field is quickly turning into a place to spot celebrities. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was present after serving as the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay. Shortly after Ralphie, the school’s live Buffalo mascot, ran, Lil Wayne led the Buffs out of the tunnel — while rapping — in pregame. Others like NBA player Kawhi Leonard and rapper Offset also made their way to Boulder.
“If I was the other team, I’d be so scared right now,” Shilo Sanders said about the pregame atmosphere. “They got Lil Wayne over here, Coach Prime doing his thing. They got a whole animal running around.”
For as well as Colorado State played for long stretches, the Rams couldn’t get out of their own way. They committed 17 penalties for 187 yards, several of them personal fouls that came at crucial moments.
Only five teams in the last 20 years at the FBS level have been penalized more yards in a single game.
“Obviously, we had too many penalties. I can’t even speak about it. It’s so ridiculous,” Norvell said. “And it’s a real shame because a lot of those penalties took away a lot of great efforts from our kids. I’ve never seen such a lopsided game penalty wise.
“I do give Colorado credit. They’re a very good football team.”
The stakes increase significantly from here for Colorado. After going 3-0 in nonconference play, they play at No. 13 Oregon next week before hosting No. 5 USC on Sept. 30.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Mason Heintschel threw for 321 yards and connected with Desmond Reid on a pair of touchdown passes as Pittsburgh handed No. 25 Florida State its third straight conference loss on Saturday.
A true freshman, Heintschel completed 21 of 29 passes and had a pair of second-quarter interceptions in the 34-31 win. He has surpassed 300 passing yards in both of his starts, building off a rout of Boston College last week with a road upset of the Seminoles.
Reid had eight catches for 155 yards and 10 carries for 38 yards for Pittsburgh (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Panthers closed as 11.5-point underdogs before the game, making the victory their largest upset since beating No. 2 Miami in 2017 as 12-point underdogs, according to ESPN Research.
After a promising start to the season, Florida State (3-3, 0-3) is in free fall following losses to Virginia, Miami and now Pittsburgh. Mike Norvell’s team has failed to defeat an ACC opponent since a win over California more than a year ago.
Tommy Castellanos completed 16 of 23 passes for 245 yards for the Seminoles on Saturday, including a pair of touchdowns to Micahi Danzy — 58 yards in the fourth quarter and 33 yards in the second quarter.
But after FSU went ahead 24-21 on Jake Weinberg‘s 34-yard field goal attempt, Florida State fumbled at midfield and then went three-and-out. Later, while trailing 34-24, came Castellanos’ 58-yarder to Danzy.
The Panthers finished with a pair of field goals and then Ja’Kyrian Turner’s 3-yard touchdown run capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive with 2:28 left.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Ty Simpson threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns, including the clincher on fourth down to Daniel Hill with 3:16 to go, and eighth-ranked Alabama held off No. 14 Missouri 27-24 on Saturday to give the Crimson Tide their fifth consecutive win.
Jam Miller added 85 yards rushing before leaving with a concussion in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Riley and Isaiah Horton also had TD catches for Alabama (5-1, 3-0 SEC), which has won seven straight over Missouri dating to Sept. 8, 1975.
“Nobody flinched,” Simpson said afterward, scanning over the final box score. “We’re going to keep punching.”
Beau Pribula kept punching for the Tigers (5-1, 1-1), too, hitting Donovan Olugbode for a touchdown with 1:39 left. And after the Crimson Tide pounced on the onside kick, Missouri forced a quick punt to get the ball back with 1:17 still on the clock.
Pribula connected with Olugbode again on fourth down to get close to midfield, but he followed with two incompletions. Then on third down, Pribula overshot his target and was picked off by Alabama defensive back Dijon Lee Jr. to put the game away.
The loss ended the Tigers’ 15-game home winning streak, the second-longest nationally.
“We had an opportunity,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Proud of the way our defense fought. Proud of the way our offense fought. Ultimately we just had too many critical mistakes in critical situations.”
Pribula finished with 167 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he also was the Tigers’ most effective runner with 61 yards and another score. The nation’s leading rusher, Ahmad Hardy, was held to just 52 yards.
“We did the job. Got the job done,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Each side of the ball, we covered for each other.”
Missouri got off to a good start, seemingly stunning Alabama on its opening drive. It took just six plays to march 78 yards, and Pribula threw a nifty lob to tight end Brett Norfleet down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Yet the Crimson Tide not only regained their composure, they regained control.
Simpson was nearly perfect on an answering TD drive. And after Missouri went three-and-out, the junior QB drove the Crimson Tide downfield again, zipping a pass to Horton on third-and-long for a 16-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-7.
After each team added a field goal before halftime, Missouri took advantage of Simpson’s fumble – his only big mistake – on the first play of the second half. Pribula juked his way into the end zone three plays later to tie the game 17-all.
Yet the Tigers were never able to regain the lead.
Conor Talty added a go-ahead field goal later in the third quarter for Alabama, and the Crimson Tide stopped Missouri on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter, shoving Jamal Roberts out of bounds just shy of the marker; replays appeared to show the running back reaching the ball far enough for a first down, but the spot was upheld by the officials.
Alabama took over and, after Simpson converted on fourth-and-8 with a throw to freshman Lotzeir Brooks, the SEC’s top passer found Hill in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the Missouri 2 with just over three minutes remaining to put it out of reach.
“We preached all week – shoot, all year – to be elite in critical situations,” Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said. “I think it’s just our team. We pride ourselves on being unbreakable. We know we’re going to execute in those situations.”
Missouri wrapped up its season-opening homestand by losing at Faurot Field for the first time since Oct. 7, 2023.
Alabama returns home to play No. 12 Tennessee next Saturday.
Missouri plays its first road game against Auburn the same day.
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