BOULDER, Colo. – Coach Deion Sanders hates late kickoff times and isn’t especially fond of cold weather.
But here he is on Friday the 13th, leading his Colorado football team into a 10 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN, this time amid chilly temperatures against Stanford (1-4).
It will be a different kind of test for the Buffaloes (4-2), whose first five games came against opponents that were either nationally ranked or a longtime “personal” rival.
Stanford is neither, but the hype will still be there for Coach Prime and the Buffs at Folsom Field. They will be playing in front of their seventh straight sellout crowd and another big audience on national television.
Will they start slow again, as they did in their previous three games, when they were outscored a combined 34-7 in the first quarter? And can they protect star quarterback Shedeur Sanders? Colorado ranks second nationally in most quarterback sacks allowed with 31.
Coach Prime has been waiting all day to find out.
Colorado offense finally comes up empty but Buffaloes cruising at halftime
BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado started the game with four touchdowns on four possessions but its offense finally came up empty at the end of the first half. Deion Sanders elected to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which missed as the kick from Alejandro Mata fell short.
But the Buffaloes still entered halftime with a 29-0 lead against Stanford after getting three touchdowns from Xavier Weaver and one from Travis Hunter.
The Buffs have outgained Stanford 324-115 and are averaging 9.5 yards per play. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has completed 14 of 18 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Colorado 29, Stanford 0: Xavier Weaver jogs into end zone as rout is on
BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado has scored four touchdowns in four possessions against Stanford to start a cold, late game at Folsom Field. Receiver Xavier Weaver has scored three of the touchdowns, the latest on a reverse flip handoff to the left side, where he jogged into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown with 2:57 left in the first half.
Colorado leads 29-0. The Buffaloes have 298 total yards, compared to 109 for Stanford.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Colorado up 22-0 as Shedeur Sanders, Xavier Weaver link up again
BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders found receiver Xavier Weaver wide open on the right side of the field for a 39-yard touchdown pass, helping the Buffaloes take a 22-0 lead against Stanford with 8:42 left in the first half.
Colorado faked an extra-point kick, pitching the ball to tight end Caleb Fauria for the two-point conversion.
Sanders is 11-for-14 passing for 159 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Weaver. The Buffaloes have scored on all three of their possessions so far after being outscored 34-7 in the first quarters of their previous three games.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Refs give warning to Colorado public address announcer
Boulder has been a party since Deion Sanders took over the Colorado job. On Friday night, CU was rocking a little too much, apparently.
Refs stopped play at the beginning of the second quarter to make an announcement:
“Will the public address announcer please stop playing while Stanford is in formation ready to snap the ball. Anymore playing of music, or sound effects, will result in an unsportsmanlike conduct foul against Colorado,” the head ref said.
Fans greeted the announcement with hearty boos.
“When the offense approaches the line, and they begin calling their signals, all of the public address announcements and music has to cease at that time,” ESPN officiating expert Matt Austin explained.
Travis Hunter scores in his return, Colorado goes up 14-0
BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado is off to a hot start and so is Travis Hunter. He scored a 24-yard touchdown on a nice catch and run — highlighted by an ankle-breaking spin move — with 3:36 left in the first quarter. The TD and extra point put the Buffaloes up 14-0 with their second touchdown in two possessions against Stanford.
Hunter started on offense and defense after missing the last three games with a lacerated liver but already has two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, along with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty enforced on the ensuing kickoff.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Colorado takes early 7-0 lead on Stanford
BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado struck first against Stanford, taking a 7-0 lead after going 77 yards in eight plays, capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to receiver Xavier Weaver. The drive included a 12-yard catch by Travis Hunter on third-and-11, followed by a 38-yard scamper by Sanders to bring the Buffaloes to the Stanford 28-yard line.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Travis Hunter back on the field for Colorado
Travis Hunter’s warmup was not just a pregame show — he started on both off defense and offense for the Buffaloes and got involved early. He caught a pass from Shedeur Sanders on Colorado’s first series.
Colorado vs. Stanford game now set for 10:20 p.m. ET kickoff
The beginning of the game was being shown on ESPNEWS.
Is Travis Hunter playing today?
BOULDER, Colo. – Star cornerback-receiver Travis Hunter is set to return for Colorado on Friday night after missing the last three games with a lacerated liver. He drew cheers when he came on the field in shorts and a sleeveless top, then pulled down some one-handed catches in the end zone during pregame warmups.
Deion Sanders said on his weekly coaches show this week that Hunter would not have a play limit if he gets the green light to play. That’s not how Hunter rolls. He’s an “all-out” or nothing guy, meaning he could play more than 120 plays combined for Colorado on offense and defense against Stanford, as he did in his first two games this season against TCU and Nebraska.
Hunter, a sophomore, suffered the injury Sept. 16 in a double-overtime win against Colorado State, when he was crushed by a late hit from Colorado State defender Henry Blackburn in the first quarter.
Colorado is 3-0 in games Hunter has started and is 1-2 in games he’s missed.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Atmosphere should be good for Colorado game, even if Deion Sanders hates late start
BOULDER, Colo. – The atmosphere for Friday night’s game in Boulder could get quite raucous even though Stanford isn’t a heavyweight opponent or bitter enemy. There are a few reasons for this:
1. It’s Family Weekend at CU, which means parents crowded the campus bookstore Thursday and Friday to stock up on Buffs gear. After watching “Coach Prime” and the school’s football team become a national sensation last month, many of them are eager to take part in the party with their CU student children. It’s why this game was one of the first two announced sellouts for Colorado this season, along with the Nebraska game Sept. 9. This sellout was announced July 20.
2. It’s a sold-out game at night on ESPN. Colorado has played in front of sellout crowds in all of its game this season. This will be the seventh straight, which is believed to be a school record. Night games at Folsom Field historically have led to rowdy atmospheres after a long day of waiting (and consuming alcohol in some cases).
3. It’ll be cold. Temperatures could plunge to near 30 degrees, just six days after the Buffs kicked off in 99-degree heat in a 27-24 win at Arizona State. That’s why sweatshirts in particular suddenly became a popular sales item this week on campus. Cold weather also doesn’t exactly tend to reduce alcohol consumption before and during football games.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Deion Sanders hates late start time for Colorado vs. Stanford
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders ripped the 8 p.m. local time kickoff set by ESPN for Friday night’s game against Stanford at Folsom Field, saying “thank God” his team is soon leaving the Pac-12 Conference and its many later game times in the West.
Sanders said the 8 p.m. kickoff was the “dumbest thing ever” and “the stupidest thing ever invented in life.”
“Who wants to stay up till 8 o’clock for a dern game?” he asked.
He made these remarks Wednesday on his weekly Colorado Football Coaches Show in Boulder. He then questioned how many viewers would stay up to watch the game on the East Coast, where the game starts at 10 p.m.
“They even care about ratings or anybody watching it?” he asked.
ESPN does, and it hit the jackpot on a previous late game involving Colorado on Sept. 16. Colorado beat Colorado State in that game in double-overtime and drew 9.3 million viewers despite it ending after 2 a.m. on the East Coast. It was the most-watched late game ever on ESPN.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Deion Sanders can’t wait for Colorado to leave Pac-12
Even though it’s a home game in Boulder, his team stays in a hotel before the game, as do other teams before home games.
“What you supposed to do in the hotel?” he asked. “What you supposed to do all day?”
“Watching football,” the show’s host Mark Johnson said.
“Who’s playing on Friday?” Sanders replied.
Sanders then noted his team is leaving the Pac-12 after this season.
“Thank God we’re not gonna be in this conference,” he said.
By leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12 next year, Colorado will play more games against conference rivals in the Central and Eastern time zones, where he expects fewer kickoffs at 10 p.m. ET.
— Brent Schrotenboer
Will Shedeur Sanders do his watch flex tonight?
What’s a watch flex, you ask? ICYMI, USA TODAY Sports’ Brent Schrotenboer explained the gesture that has ignited controversy since Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders started flashing his $70,000 watch at the crowd during emotionally charged moments. So is it cool, classless or a genius marketing move? It depends who you ask.
Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter cleared to return
Whether he does play will depend on “how he looks, how he performs in practice, how his wind is,” Sanders said. “He has to be in shape. I don’t want him to be a liability. I want him to always be a tremendous athlete.”
That likely means he will play since Hunter has been practically begging to return to the field since his injury.
— Brent Schrotenboer
How much did Colorado miss Travis Hunter?
Colorado was 3-0 in games started by Hunter and now is 1-2 in games without him. Since his injury, the Buffaloes struggled the rest of the game against Colorado State before winning in double overtime, lost at Oregon 42-6, lost against Southern California 48-41 and then barely won last weekend at Arizona State, 27-24.
— Brent Schrotenboer
What channel is the Colorado game on?
Stanford at Colorado is set to begin at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Colorado game live stream
The Stanford at Colorado game can be streamed via Watch ESPN.
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