BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders didn’t get a chance to fully enjoy the moment as his son, Shedeur, and his just-like-a-son, Travis Hunter, had their jerseys retired Saturday before the spring game.
The Colorado coach had too many other obligations — checking out his new QBs, watching special teams and making sure the product was entertaining for a national television audience tuning in.
He was appreciative of the moment, though, even if the jersey retirement has rankled some former Colorado players and fans.
“I looked in both of their eyes — I know [Shedeur and Travis] were pleased, they were thankful, and they were proud,” Deion Sanders said. “That means a lot to me.
“The time frame, nobody’s going to be happy with. Somebody’s always going have something to say. But the way we are right now, we are a now generation. … those guys deserve what they deserve right now. So I’m proud of them.”
It was one of the last times that Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will team up on the turf at Folsom Field. Standing at midfield, they watched their retired jersey numbers — No. 2 for Sanders, No. 12 for Hunter — unveiled on the east face of the stadium.
This kicked off a busy week for Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Sanders, the Johnny Unitas Award winner as college football’s top QB. Both are expected to be high draft picks when the NFL draft starts on Thursday.
Once the retired ceremony concluded, the Buffaloes got down to the business of football.
Namely, finding a successor for Shedeur Sanders.
It figures to be a two-QB race between Kaidon Salter, a transfer from Liberty, and Julian “JuJu” Lewis, the five-star recruit who arrived on campus last fall to get an early start.
Lewis was the first to take the field and there were early jitters. He mixed the pass with the run, which will be a familiar sight as Colorado emphasizes the ground game this season now that the younger Sanders is gone. The Buffaloes brought in Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as the running backs coach to provide a spark.
“He’s still a young man,” Deion Sanders said of Lewis. “We don’t care about the age and the stage, though.”
Salter showed a veteran’s poise when it was his turn. The dual-threat QB threw for 56 TDs at Liberty and ran for 21 scores.
“I fell in love with the offense,” Salter said of why he chose Colorado. “We have a fully loaded staff here that knows what it takes to get to the next level.”
Shedeur Sanders sauntered along the sideline, taking in the action of his heirs apparent, Lewis and Salter. Looking on as well was Hunter.
Sanders and Hunter became the fifth and sixth players in Colorado’s 135-year history to have their jerseys retired.
At halftime, the Buffaloes announced the late coach Bill McCartney would be honored next season with a statue. McCartney, who led the program to its only football national championship in 1990, died in January at 84.
Deion Sanders said he only wishes the tribute came earlier.
“Why are we waiting? Wouldn’t (McCartney) have wanted him to see (it), to be involved in it, to feel it, to feel the love, the respect, the appreciation? Why’d we wait?” asked Sanders, who plans to honor McCartney next fall by donning a similar hat and jacket as the Hall of Fame coach used to wear. “Everything we get is right now. We want something, we order it off Amazon — right now. We’re not a … waiting generation no more. That’s over. That’s a wrap on that. Everybody in here is impatient. You download stuff right now, putting it out as I speak. Let’s stop.
“I’m sad because I wanted him to see that. He can’t see that.”
Bring on Syracuse?
The attendance was announced at 20,430 fans, which was down from the previous two spring games. Sanders thinks the NCAA nixing a plan to play Syracuse hurt ticket sales. Still, he wants to see more seats filled.
“We do have a tremendous fan base, but we need a little more support when it comes to whatever we do inside the stadium,” Sanders said. “We should be packing it like it’s a game.”
Walk-on honored
Walk-on safety Ben Finneseth was awarded a scholarship by Sanders.
“As soon as I put my head in his shoulder, I said, ‘Thank you for believing in me.’ Because he’s believed in me since Day 1,” Finneseth said. “I can’t thank everyone enough for giving me the opportunity.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who left the Nittany Lions’ stunning 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, is out for the season, coach James Franklin said in his postgame media availability.
Allar hobbled off the field after a third-down play in the fourth quarter, and was eventually carted off to the locker room. He was replaced by Ethan Grunkemeyer.
“Drew will be done for the year,” Franklin said.
Penn State (3-3) has now lost three straight games, with two of those coming in Happy Valley. The reeling Nittany Lions will take on Iowa next Saturday.
It’s a different story for the Wildcats. They surged to 4-2 as Caleb Komolafe ran for 72 yards and a touchdown to stun the Beaver Stadium crowd. Preston Stone threw for 163 yards with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde, and Jack Olsen kicked three field goals for the Wildcats, who won their third straight and moved to 2-1 in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats, who hadn’t won in Beaver Stadium since 2014, took the lead for good with 4:51 remaining when Komolafe bulled his way through Penn State’s defense to cap a 75-yard drive.
The Nittany Lions, who fell to 0-3 in the league, got the ball back, but that’s when Allar suffered his injury. Grunkemeyer was immediately stopped on a fourth-down run, and the Wildcats ran the clock out from there.
“It’s 100 percent on me,” Franklin said of the loss. “And we got to get it fixed. And I will get it fixed.”
Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran for touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. It was the fifth time a Franklin-coached Penn State team has lost at least three consecutive games in a season.
The Nittany Lions, who committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half, could never get out of their way. Meanwhile, the Wildcats played steady, almost mistake-free football in front of a flat Penn State crowd that chanted “Fire James Franklin!” early.
Allar was intercepted on Penn State’s opening drive when he threw the ball right to defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Adeyi returned it to the Northwestern 33, and the Wildcats turned it into three points 12 plays later with Jack Olsen’s 27-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions finally got their offense moving with Allen. He carried five times on Penn State’s next possession and gave his team a 7-3 lead when he muscled in from 11 yards out early in the second.
Northwestern marched into Penn State’s territory on its next possession, and Stone found a wide-open Wilde for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Wildcats appeared to get a stop on defense but fumbled away the ensuing punt. The Nittany Lions needed nine plays from Northwestern’s 26 but finally broke through on a fourth-and-goal when Singleton slashed around the Wildcats’ left flank for a 2-yard touchdown.
Olsen made a 34-yarder with three seconds left to cut Penn State’s lead to 14-13 at halftime.
EUGENE, Ore. — Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown and No. 7 Indiana remained undefeated with a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.
Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for the Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who frustrated the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) with stout defensive play.
The victory was Indiana’s second against an AP top-five opponent in program history. The Hoosiers entered Saturday having lost 46 consecutive games vs. AP top-five opponents, tied with Wake Forest for the longest streak in the AP poll era, according to ESPN Research.
Dante Moore threw for 186 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. He had two interceptions and was sacked six times.
With Oregon down 20-13 going into the fourth quarter, Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Mendoza’s pass and ran it back 35 yards to tie the game with 12:42 left.
Mendoza answered with an 8-yard scoring pass to Elijah Sarratt with 6:23 to go. On Oregon’s next series, Dante Moore’s pass was intercepted by Louis Moore.
Brendan Franke added a 22-yard field goal for the Hoosiers with 2:06 left.
Both teams were coming off weeks off. In their last game, the Ducks beat Penn State 30-24 in double overtime on the road in the annual White Out game. The Hoosiers beat Iowa 20-15 on the road.
On the first series of the game, the Ducks failed at a fourth-and-1 attempt, giving the Hoosiers good field position for their opening drive. It ended with Nico Radicic‘s 42-yard field goal.
Oregon pulled ahead with Dante Moore’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Malik Benson, but Hemby rushed for a 3-yard touchdown before the end of the first quarter to make it 10-7.
Atticus Sappington‘s 40-yard field goal tied it up for the Ducks, but a later 36-yard attempt that would have given Oregon the lead went wide left.
Franke kicked a 58-yard field goal as time ran out to give Indiana a 13-10 advantage at the break.
Sappington’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter tied it again for Oregon, but Hemby added his second touchdown for the Hoosiers, a 2-yard dash late in the period.
DALLAS — Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed 23-6 win over sixth-rankedOklahoma in their annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.
Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.
Texas retained the Golden Hat trophy and should get back into the next poll on Sunday. More importantly, the Longhorns avoided a loss that likely would have ended any realistic chance of getting into the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.
John Mateer was 20-of-38 passing with three interceptions in his return to the lineup for Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) only 17 days after surgery on his throwing (right) hand.
Niblett worked up the sideline in front of the Texas bench, and after making a cut inside near midfield bounced off a teammate and continued his sprint to the end zone for a 20-6 lead with 9:59 left.
When the Sooners gained 38 yards on three plays to the Texas 27 on the ensuing drive, Mateer had an incompletion before being sacked on consecutive plays and then had another incompletion on fourth-and-22. They finished with only 258 total yards.
Mason Shipley kicked field goals of 22, 48 and 39 yards for the Longhorns. He had two long misses, the first a 55-yard attempt that ricocheted off the right upright, and was later short on a 56-yard attempt.
Tate Sandell kicked a 42-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for the Sooners. He made it 6-0 with a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but they didn’t score again.
