Prime makes history nearly two decades in the making, Colorado stuns No. 14 Houston

The Buffaloes beat the No. 14 Houston Cougars 42-32 — the win ended a 35-game losing streak against teams in the AP Top 15, the last one came against No. 3 Oklahoma on Sept. 29, 2007

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Nov 14, 2026, 12:01 AM

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A month ago, Colorado lost to No. 10 Utah by three points. Afterward, Deion Sanders said the best he could give Buffs fans was hope.

“We wish to God we could have sent them home with a smile on their face,” Sanders said that night. “But at least we sent them home with a little hope.”

On Friday night, 47,495 fans at Folsom Field got more than the hope — they got the smile.

The Buffaloes beat the No. 14 Houston Cougars 42-32. The win ended a 35-game losing streak against teams in the AP Top 15. The last one came against No. 3 Oklahoma on Sept. 29, 2007. Some of the players on the field hadn’t been born yet.

In doing so, Colorado, 4-6 and 2-5 in the Big 12, are still alive for a bowl if they win their last two games. Houston came to Boulder in the Big 12 title race and on the edge of the College Football Playoff picture. It flies home 7-3 with both hopes dashed.

The pressure on Sanders had been building all month, and one win doesn’t erase that. It does change the conversation. Sanders is now 20-27 at Colorado with some of the highest highs of any coach in Boulder in the last several decades.

“These kids are resilient,” Sanders told ESPN on the field. “They have not stopped. They have not quit. They have not given up.”

Houston scored on each of its first four drives and led 20-7 with 2:36 left in the first half. Colorado could’ve quit there. But instead of just making it close like they have against good teams all season, the Buffaloes scored the next 28 points.

Colorado won with big plays. DeKalon Taylor ran for a 67-yard touchdown. JaQuail Smith scored from 32 yards out with 15 seconds left in the half. Richard Young had already broken a 38-yard touchdown run. Colorado ran for 249 yards, a season high, beating the 222 it put up against Kansas State in their last outing at Folsom Field, also a win. Six runs went for at least 10 yards.

The defining moment came right after halftime.

Earlier this year in Stillwater, Isaac Wilson fumbled on the first play of the second half. Colorado led 24-23 at the time and lost 57-24. On Friday, Wilson threw an interception on the first play of the second half, and it looked like the same story.

This time the defense answered. On Houston’s next snap, Randon Fontenette sacked Conner Weigman and forced a fumble, and Santana Hopper recovered. Three plays later, Wilson hit Joseph Williams on a slant that went 53 yards for a touchdown.

That’s the response Colorado hasn’t had all season. For about 25 minutes of game time, the offense looked as good as it has all year but Wilson got hurt late in a third-quarter drive. The put the Buffs down to their last quarterback on the roster. Kaneal Sweetwyne. The freshman came in and ran for a 14-yard touchdown on his first snap. Wilson was back a few plays into the next drive.

It wasn’t a clean finish. Early in the fourth quarter, Colorado went for it on fourth-and-3 and had a banged-up Wilson keep it. He lost a yard. Houston scored a touchdown on fourth down a few plays later. On the next drive, Colorado fumbled twice. It recovered both, used up six minutes and scored on Young’s 2-yard run with 3:59 left. Houston scored again, and then the Buffs recovered the onside kick to ice it.

Sanders said he saw it coming, or close to it.

“We felt like we could win this game by 10 points,” he said, though he admit he was surprised by just how much scoring there was on both sides.

They won by 10.

“I’m just blessed to be stressed,” Sanders said. “Let’s not get that twisted.”

This time, Colorado fans left Folsom smiling and maybe with a bit of renewed hope for Prime’s future in Boulder.