By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas | Can we say, "They're baaaaaaaaack!" Those once-reliable patsies Colorado Buffaloes used to being whipped by more than four touchdowns per game last season actually came to Fort Worth, Texas and whipped the favored Horned Frogs, 45-42.
Favored! Like by 20.5 points, according to Vegas bookies.
It is the electric story moving across college football like no other in recent years. Colorado has its history of winning, but not lately. No, this year's squad was taking the field after last year's team went 1-11. One and eleven. How do you get motivated to play when you're losing every weekend?
The University of Colorado hired itself one helluva motivator - NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, old # 21 for the Dallas Cowboys. The pre-season talk was of Sanders being in the coaching hotseat, about how he had walked into a loser's den, about how it would be tough to win a mere three games.
Uh, those naysayers were the game's loudest voices after Saturday's game. ESPN, the big boombox of college football, devoted so much time to the Colorado win that scores from other games literally got little coverage. Prime Time was on TV all over the place, including his post-game press conference, which ESPN featured prominently.
Coach Prime has now served noticed that he has banded a tough squad to be reckoned with. Next week, the high-scoring Buffaloes host once-mighty Nebraska, now an also-ran. The Huskers lost their first game to Minnesota this week. It'll be one hot time along restaurant and bar-heavy Pearl Street in Boulder, a favorite haunt of mine when I worked for The Associated Press in Denver.
Those were the good years, when Coach Bill "Wings" McCartney fielded a team in 1994 that went 11-1 behind the running of back Rashaan Salaam, who would win the coveted Heisman Trophy that year. Some of you may remember the name of that team's quarterback - one Kordell Stewart, who went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Buffaloes beat Texas that year (34-31), losing only to eventual NCAA champion Nebraska by a score of 24-7.
In that year's Fiesta Bowl, the Buffaloes routed Notre Dame, 41-24.
It is that mood that likely has already captured fans in the entire state. The Denver Post had several nice write-ups about Coach Prime's first victory, gushing that TCU was ranked and hosting the young and untested Buffaloes on its home field.
45-42.
A shootout, yes, but one the Buffaloes handled well. It was Colorado that broke into the scoring column first, that held the lead at halftime and that weathered a surge from the Horned Frogs to eventually grab the win.
Standout players: Colorado's QB Shedeur Sanders, son of Coach Prime and shown in photo above, passed for 510 yards - a school record. That's impressive. Yeah, he had similar numbers at Jackson State, when he and his dad played and coached for the Tigers, but he wasn't facing Big Time teams there. TCU was ranked #17 going into its game against the Buffaloes. Freshman running back Dylan Edwards scored four touchdowns! And four different Buffaloes had at least 100 yards receiving, another school record.
This was not mere showing up to play a game; this was coming out to win. Colorado's players were clearly ready. Much more than were the TCU players. That prediction by sportswriters that the best Colorado would do this season was win three games?
They won't be writing that anymore...
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5 comments:
What a game! better than the Longhorns destroying a hapless Rice team. Deion is Deion and he draws attention. UTexas should have hired him.
That's called reporting. Details and observations. I read your story and we seem to be telling you a whole lot you didn't know. But you are NOT a news journalist. No college degree. No military service. Grocery store cashier? Motel clerk? Shrimp boat unloader? That's you coming here to take me on? If only! Write the story about how you handed your dead wife's body to science. To save money? No funeral equals no expenditure. You're a pathetic, overweight, balding, slumping 75 year-old unaccomplished pensioner here only to criticize a writer with extensive journalism credentials. But do keep reading our writing. The more you read...the better writer you will become....someday. Ha ha ha...
It was a great game! Loved the way Colorado never gave up. TCU did. Good writing.
Colorado's players looked hungry. They wanted that game and TCU let then have it. Prime is onto something. I'll be watching his team.
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