When Colorado lined up for the final play of regulation Saturday night against Baylor, the plan called for Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes’ do-it-all star, to serve as … a decoy?

Colorado needed a Hail Mary touchdown to tie the score, and figured Hunter, who had six receptions for 126 yards, would attract the most attention. Hunter would run toward the middle of the end zone, ideally creating a more favorable matchup for LaJohntay Wester, a 5-foot-11, 167-pound wideout.

“We put Travis backside, he’s going to get all the attention, and then LaJohntay’s just going to be there, outside, one-on-one,” Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders said. “They’re not going to think we’re going to throw him the ball because he’s a shorter guy, probably in that situation. So then I roll left, everybody went in the middle of the end zone and I just trusted God. I threw it up to God and God answered the prayer, for sure.”

Sanders’ heave from the Baylor 49-yard line fell to Wester, who wedged between two Bears defenders and dove in the end zone for a touchdown. Colorado went on to win 38-31 in overtime, setting off a storming at Folsom Field and the most dramatic finish under second-year coach Deion Sanders. The Buffs erased three deficits and overcame a 100-yard Baylor kick return touchdown to win their first Big 12 game since returning to the league.

“Great, great, great, great, great, great win,” Deion Sanders said. “The young men were resilient. They never gave up.”

Shedeur Sanders finished with 341 passing yards and touchdown strikes of 58 yards to Omarion Miller just before halftime and 43 yards to Wester as the fourth quarter expired. He led an overtime touchdown drive that culminated with Micah Welch‘s second rushing score.

“That’s why I use the word legendary, and I post it so many times,” Shedeur Sanders said. “That’s the word that I stand by and I live by. Through all the moments, throughout everything, I know, at the end of the day, legendary, that’s what ingrained in me.”

Hunter continued to strengthen his case as a top Heisman Trophy candidate with 130 receiving yards on seven catches, and the game-sealing play on defense in overtime. Baylor’s Dominic Richardson seemed headed for a sure touchdown before Hunter knocked the ball free and it scooted out of the end zone.

Colorado fans stormed the field as officials reviewed the ball, determining the ball was out before Richardson crossed the goal line.

“Shedeur told me to go out there and get the ball once [Colorado] scored, so I told him, ‘I got you,’ and I kept my word,” Hunter said. “I knew I had to tackle. You could see me putting in my mouthpiece late on the play, so I was already ready. I knew they were coming at me. They don’t think I can tackle, so I had to show them.”

On the final snap of regulation, Hunter knew he had to pull Baylor’s defenders in his direction, saying that most Hail Mary plays are 50-50 chances but Colorado’s talented receiving corps increased the odds to 80-20.

“I saw [Sanders] rolling out and then I saw the ball coming my way,” said Wester, who transferred to Colorado this season after a productive career at Florida Atlantic. “As a receiver, your job is to make the quarterback right, whether it’s a good ball or a bad ball. I just made a play on the ball.”

Baylor coach Dave Aranda said the defensive play call on the Hail Mary is “victory cigar,” which includes an up-and-under rush to flush the quarterback toward a contain rusher.

“We went to opposite sides,” Aranda said. “The guy that was up-and-under went away, and the guy that was contain went to the other side, so when you watch that play, you’ll watch someone come from the right and go up and under, well, that’s a shame, because he’s contain.

“I’ve never seen that, and I take full responsibility for that. I have to find a way to coach that better.”

Wester called the postgame atmosphere “a party,” as the celebration went from the field to the Buffaloes’ locker room. Deion Sanders said he regretted the field storm because it prevented him from shaking hands with Aranda, but he praised Colorado fans for their support.

“We have a fan base that’s phenomenal,” Deion Sanders said. “We have some young kids on this campus that love and breath CU football, and I’m thankful.”

Sanders also recognized Colorado’s offensive line, which “always gets ridiculed” but helped the team record three rushing touchdowns. Baylor still recorded eight sacks, 12 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.

“I just want everybody to know we can run the ball, and shut up all the haters about it,” Welch said.

But the Bears badly missed a field-goal attempt with 2:16 left that would have given them a 10-point lead and Shedeur Sanders and Colorado ultimately capitalized.

“It kind of threw us back to last year a little bit, didn’t it? Like that nostalgia, that’s the way stuff was starting last year,” said Deion Sanders, referring to Colorado’s 3-0 start to his tenure. “I’m like, ‘Man, I’m going gray, what you trying to do to me, fellas?’ It was a tough one. This press conference could be totally different right now, but I’m excited that we won.”

SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox tied the American League record with their 119th loss Saturday night, when Xander Bogaerts and Elias Diaz each hit a two-run homer to help the San Diego Padres to a 6-2 win and move closer to a playoff spot.

The White Sox (36-119) matched the AL mark set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who finished 43-119. One more defeat for Chicago over its final seven games would equal the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets, and two more would set a record. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the overall major league record for losses at 20-134.

Chris Flexen (2-15) remained winless in his past 23 starts for a White Sox club that lost its 20th straight road series. According to ESPN Research, Chicago, which is now 9-48 since the All-Star break, is on pace for 124 losses.

“They’ve been playing some good baseball these last couple of days,” Bogaerts said of Chicago. “Obviously, we want to win every game by a big margin, but these guys are putting up a fight. They’re trying to be spoilers. Nothing’s been given easy to us these last couple of days. It’s been nice to be able to fight for it a little bit more than people would have expected.”

David Peralta also homered for San Diego (89-66), which maintained a two-game lead over Arizona for the top National League wild-card spot.

The Padres reduced their magic number to two for clinching their second playoff berth in three seasons. They received no help from the Atlanta Braves or the New York Mets, both of whom won Saturday.

Bogaerts gave the Padres a 2-0 lead with his shot to left-center field with no outs in the second inning off Flexen. It was Bogaerts’ 11th homer and it came with rookie Jackson Merrill aboard on a leadoff single.

“It’s a good lineup,” Chicago manager Grady Sizemore said of the Padres. “You make mistakes over the plate, and they might hurt you.”

Peralta homered with one out in the third, his eighth. Merrill, considered by some the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, hit an RBI single in the fifth.

Diaz hit a two-run shot in the eighth off former Padres reliever Enyel De Los Santos. It was his sixth of the season.

Lenyn Sosa hit an RBI single in the sixth for the White Sox off Martin Perez (5-5). Bryan Ramos drew a bases-loaded walk from Padres reliever Jason Adam in the eighth.

Perez held Chicago to one run and two hits in 5⅓ innings, struck out six and walked three. And Tanner Scott recorded five outs for his 22nd save.

Flexen gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.

With history awaiting, the White Sox will start right-hander Sean Burke (1-0, 2.25 ERA) on Sunday, opposed by Padres righty Yu Darvish (6-3, 3.21).

“Hits were hard to come by tonight,” Sizemore said. “But we had good at-bats.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mack Brown told ESPN on Saturday he’s not resigning after an emotional locker room scene with his players following North Carolina’s embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison, which is in only its third season as an FBS school.

Brown, a College Football Hall of Famer, said he told the players that it was his fault and would step away if he couldn’t get things fixed. The 70 points were the most ever given up by the Tar Heels, who fell to 3-1.

“I’m not resigning. I’ll be back at work Monday,” Brown told ESPN.

Brown, 73, is in his sixth season at North Carolina. He told ESPN he was aware of some reports and that messages in emotional locker rooms can be misconstrued, but was adamant that he’s not stepping down.

Brown has led UNC to winning records in four of his five seasons. The Tar Heels won eight games last season and nine the season before when they finished first in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Brown was at Texas for 16 seasons and won a national championship in 2005 and played for another in 2009. He resigned under pressure following the 2013 season, and after taking a break from coaching, returned in 2019 to North Carolina for his second stint in Chapel Hill. Brown was North Carolina’s coach from 1988 to 1997.

The Tar Heels travel to rival Duke next Saturday.