After nine months of hype, Deion Sanders had Colorado ready for prime time in his much-anticipated debut as Buffaloes coach.
Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, threw for a school-record 510 yards with four touchdowns — the game-winner a 46-yard catch-and-run by true freshman Dylan Edwards with 4:25 left —- and the Buffs pulled off an opening shocker with a 45-42 win Saturday over 17th-ranked TCU, last year’s national runner-up.
“A lot of you didn’t believe in us,” Shedeur Sanders said. “It’s crazy because you just got to understand our coach, Coach Prime, my dad, everywhere he went, he was a winner. Every game, every opportunity, he took advantage of.”
Deion Sanders came to Boulder, Colorado, to revitalize a long-dormant program, with an unprecedented roster flip.
Two-way star Travis Hunter, Edwards and Shedeur Sanders are among 87 newcomers at Colorado, which won only one game last season and has only two winning records since 2005.
Sanders practically named his son the starting quarterback before Shedeur even had a chance to enter the transfer portal, and was almost uncomfortably open about telling last year’s CU players they should probably jump in, too.
Sanders’ rebuild and a packed spring game at Folsom Field dominated the college football offseason.
But what would the team look like when the games started? Sanders already has a signature win as a three-touchdown underdog in his first game as a major college football coach.
“I’ve been talking about it and talking about it and you didn’t believe me,” he said.
Edwards caught three touchdown passes, including a 75-yarder in the opening minute of the second half when he turned another short pass into a big play. He also ran for another score.
Hunter, the former top recruit who came with the quarterback and coach from FCS school Jackson State, had 11 catches for 119 yards. As a defensive back, he had one of the two interceptions that TCU’s Chandler Morris threw in or near the end zone. He played over 120 snaps.
“They showed up. They were more ready to play than we were, think more excited to play, think they played harder,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “It seemed like they had more determination down the stretch than we did. So against that’s a real credit to them. I think their coaching staff, they really did a good job getting them ready to play.”
Shedeur Sanders completed 38 of 47 passes and the Buffaloes had four 100-yard receivers for the first time ever: Hunter, Edwards (five catches, 135 yards), Jimmy Horn Jr. (11 catches, 117 yards with a TD) and Xavier Weaver (six catches, 118 yards). Colorado outgained TCU 565-541 total yards.
Morris was 24-of-42 passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Emani Baily ran for 165 yards. Trey Sanders had three TD runs, including a 1-yard run for a 42-38 lead two plays after Major Everhart’s 86-yard kickoff return.
Edwards’ game-winning score came on a fourth-down play. He took a pass in the flats, made a slight hesitation and then raced down the sideline past the TCU defense.
TCU’s final drive came to an end with a fourth-down stop around midfield, and Colorado, playing its final season in the Pac-12 before returning to the Big 12 to share a conference with the Horned Frogs, was able to run out the final minute.
Colorado didn’t trail until Morris threw a 23-yard touchdown to Dylan Wright to put TCU up 28-24 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. But that was the first of six consecutive possessions when the two teams traded touchdowns until Edwards’ final score.
