CU Buffs lose thanks to unfathomable Stanford rally, fall in 2OT

The CU Buffs lost to Stanford on Friday night in one of the most painful defeats you’ll ever see.

This a was an unfathomable collapse.

Coach Prime’s crew put their foot on the gas early, and then let up in a big way. A 29-0 halftime lead went up in smoke, as the Cardinal had two crazy rallies in the second half to get the score to 29-26 and eventually 36-36. Yet another late game at Folsom Field headed to overtime.

And this time, the Buffs didn’t come out on top. A Shedeur Sanders interception in 2OT helped set up a game-winning field goal by Cardinal kicker Joshua Karty, and CU lost 46-43. Colorado is now 4-3 on the season and playing in a bowl game could be in real jeopardy.

It’s going to be hard to explain this to anyone who went to bed early.

The Colorado defense gave up a 97-yard touchdown reception among other problems in the third quarter, and two-way star Travis Hunter committed a silly personal foul penalty to keep a key sequence alive. Stanford would eventually score, cutting the deficit to just three points.

Shedeur Sanders and company fought back, as he hit wide receiver Xavier Weaver for a long completion on the following drive. Sanders then found Hunter in the end zone, extending the lead to 36-26. It was Hunter’s second touchdown on the night, returning after missing three games due to a nasty injury suffered in the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

Stanford punched back, getting seven and moving within a field goal. After the Cardinal forced a punt, Karty kicked a 46-yarder at the buzzer to get it to OT. The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime period, including a ridiculous catch by Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor over Hunter after the Buffs went up.

In the second overtime, the pick and then the kick left Folsom Field stunned. It’s a loss that will sting for a long time, despite plenty of good through the first two quarters.

Weaver scored a ridiculous three touchdowns in the first half, two through the air and one on the ground. Each one got progressively easier, with Weaver wide open on a 39-yard bomb from Sanders for his second TD and jogging in on a 14-yard reverse for his third.

Sanders finished 33-47 for 400 yards and five touchdowns, continuing a good first season in black and gold, but the 2OT INT was a killer. All the Cardinal needed was a field goal to head home a winner, and that’s what they got.

The CU defense kept Stanford out of the end zone and off the scoreboard in the first half, coming up with a fourth-down stop and forcing a missed field goal. But the second half and overtime was an entirely different story. Ayomanor torched their secondary for 294 yards and three touchdowns. It’s something that has to get fixed — and fast.

For Hunter, it was nice to see him back on the field. Although he struggled on defense, he was an important piece on offense. Hunter scored his first touchdown with Colorado on a 24-yard completion from Sanders in the first half, a play in which he flashed a ridiculous spin move.

Looking forward, CU hasn’t won a bowl since 2004, losing four straight. The last time they were in one was in the COVID shortened season in 2020.

But now the Buffs will need two more wins to get to play in one, and that isn’t going to be easy. After a bye week, they still have UCLA, Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Utah on the schedule. Four of those five teams are ranked, with all but the Wildcats in the top-25. If Colorado is going to win two, they’ll need at least one upset.

Playing two solid halves has been a problem all year, and now it’s up to Coach Prime to fix it. What happened against Stanford may ruin an otherwise fun season.

***