Coach Prime's Biggest Night in Boulder: Colorado Runs Over No. 14 Houston, 42-32, to Keep Its Bowl Hopes Alive

For one Friday night in the Rockies, nobody in Boulder was talking about the hot seat. Colorado knocked off No. 14 Houston, 42-32, at Folsom Field, a result the Colorado Springs Gazette called the best win of the Deion Sanders era and the most improbable of his tenure ^[1]. The Buffaloes came in at 3-6, and the Cougars arrived at 7-2 ^[1].

They did it the old-fashioned way. Colorado ran for just under 250 yards, the most in any game since Sanders arrived in Boulder, and piled up 466 yards of offense, DNVR Sports reported ^[2]. Before Friday, the Buffs had produced only three runs of 30 yards or more all season. They had three touchdown runs of 32 yards or longer in the first half alone ^[2]. DeKalon Taylor broke loose for a 67-yard score, and Jaquail Smith added a 32-yard touchdown run ^[2].

A Freshman's First Snap

The night tested Colorado's depth. Starting quarterback Isaac Wilson left the game briefly with a lower-body injury, according to DNVR and Yahoo Sports' live coverage ^[2][3]. After a timeout, true freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne jogged onto the field and ran for a touchdown on his very first play, stretching the lead to 35-20 ^[3].

That score started with a defensive stand. Colorado stopped Houston on downs on the possession before, and the offense made the Cougars pay ^[2]. Late in the third quarter, Boo Carter came up with an interception, his first of the season, which helped the Buffs close the door ^[2].

Houston never stopped swinging. Conner Weigman threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, VAVEL reported ^[4], and the Cougars kept the scoreboard busy into the fourth quarter. But Colorado's lead held to the final whistle.

Sweetwyne's cameo was also a reminder of how unsettled this season has been at the most important position. EssentiallySports counted him as the fifth different quarterback Sanders has had to turn to since his son, Shedeur, left for the NFL ^[5]. A team that has had to keep reshuffling at quarterback leaned on its offensive line and its running backs, and they answered.

Turning the Tables on Last Year

The win carried a little extra satisfaction. A year ago, Houston beat Colorado 36-20 in Houston in the Big 12 opener for both teams ^[6]. Weigman ran for two touchdowns and threw for 222 yards that night, and the loss dropped the Buffs to 1-2, the worst start of Sanders' first three seasons in Boulder ^[6]. Sanders said afterward that he was lost for words and took responsibility for the performance ^[6].

Fourteen months later, against the same quarterback, the script flipped.

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What It Means Now

The math is simple. At 4-6 with two games left, Colorado must win both to reach six wins, and DNVR noted that Friday's upset keeps those bowl hopes alive ^[2]. For a program that has heard national commentators question whether the Sanders era has run its course, a home win over a ranked opponent changes the conversation, at least for a week.

For Houston, the timing hurts. A road loss to a team with a losing record is the kind of result that can knock a contender out of a conference title race, and the Cougars will have to win out and hope for help.

My Take: Character Shows Up in November

I've said before that results matter, and they do. Colorado is paying its coach to win football games, and two straight losing seasons would test any athletic department's patience.

But I keep coming back to what this game said about a locker room. It would have been easy for a 3-6 team to coast through the last month, especially with every headline asking about the man in the headset. Instead, these young men ran harder, blocked longer and played with the kind of edge you only see from a team that still believes in each other.

A freshman quarterback stepped onto a big stage and did his job on the first snap. A defense that had been criticized all year got a stop on fourth down and a takeaway when it counted. That is what perseverance looks like. Scripture tells us that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character. Colorado has had plenty of the first two this fall. On Friday night, the third finally showed up on the scoreboard.

Two games remain, and nothing is guaranteed. But for one night, the Buffaloes reminded everyone why they play the games.