By Scott Salomon
If there was a silver lining to Colorado blowing a 29-0 halftime lead against the Stanford Cardinal, it is that it takes Miami Coach Mario Cristobal off the front page.
That spot now belongs to Deion Sanders as he watched his team lose to the Cardinal 46-43 in double overtime Friday night before a sellout crowd of 53, 154 at Folsom Field in Boulder.
Cardinal Joshua Karty‘s 31 yard field goal in the second overtime gave Stanford (2-4, 1-3) their first PAC-12 victory of the season and sent the Buffaloes reeling as they fell to 4-3 and 1-3 in the PAC-12.
The Buffs must win at least two more games to become bowl eligible.
Sanders saw his prized pupil two-way superstar, Travis Hunter, have both a game to remember and a game to forget.
Hunter had 13 catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns on offense. That was the game to remember as it was his first game back since suffering a lacerated liver against Colorado State several weeks ago.
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Unfortunately, the same Hunter on defense, gave up 13 second-half receptions to Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor who totaled 294 yards and scored three touchdowns. Ayomanor’s last touchdown grab was something special as he caught the football and Hunter’s helmet and carried both into the end zone for the score. The catch off the helmet was reminiscent of the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl against New England.
The seldom-used Canadian-born receiver was only targeted twice in the first half, but could not come up with either ball. Something clicked in the second half as quarterback Ashton Daniels went back to Ayomanor who scored two touchdowns on the next two throws of 97 yards where he literally out ran the Buffs secondary, including Shilo Sanders, and a 60-yard score where he beat Hunter off the line badly.
Hunter, for his part, was on the field entirely too much for the first game back and played both ways. It was not his fault that he gave up big plays. Prime Time should have known that he was abusing the kid and should have sat him down more during regulation. He rarely stepped off the field unless it was a special teams’ play.
This all happened on a night when Sanders questioned his players love for the game in his post-game press conference. He really challenged the players and seemed to put the blame on them instead of stepping up and taking responsibility for not making the right calls in the second half or in overtime to protect what looked like an insurmountable lead.
“They gotta make up in their mind are they in love with this game or in like with it?…,” Sanders said. “I’m truly 100% in love with this thing and I just want people to match me.”
His play calling was terrible and the Buffs had a lot of drive-killing penalties that allowed Stanford to get back in the game. Credit Cardinal Coach Tony Taylor for making the right adjustments at halftime and proving that they wanted the game more.
"Are they in love with this game or are they in like with it?"
Deion Sanders challenged his team on their love for the game after Colorado's OT loss to Stanford 🔊 pic.twitter.com/KCj9cGzoHT
— ESPN (@espn) October 14, 2023
Ayomanor quadrupled his touchdown output in the game as he went from one to four on the season. He also only had four receptions all season.
Daniels had himself a game as well as he went 27-for-45 for 396 yards and four scores.
Shedeur Sanders had a typical yeoman’s performance as he went 33-for-48 for 400 yards and five scores. His one interception at the end of the game sealed the victory for the Cardinal. The running game that has been non-existent much of the season averaged 3.8 yards per carry on 35 carries.
This game came down to the Colorado defense who could not get Stanford off the field on third down. The Cardinal were 10-of-18 on third down and extended drives that led to scores. It was much of the same that we saw of Colorado’s defense this season who has become quite proficient in yielding more than 40 points per game.
“We have no choice but to go forward. We didn’t expect that,” Sanders said. “We can’t sit and have a pity party. We are going to take this one on the chin because we deserve it. This is really tough for me. I don’t remember being up 29-0 and losing a football game.”
Deion Sanders post game presser after losing to Stanford 46-43 in double OT. Colorado led 29-0 at halftime. pic.twitter.com/ze42AnU3Zd
— stottiepippen (@stottiepippen) October 14, 2023
