Coming into the 2023 under first-year head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer, the Colorado Buffaloes win projections ranged anywhere from 3-4 wins. With a surprisingly quick start, going 3-0, the CU Buffs quickly changed that narrative.
Then came back-to-back losses to Pac-12 foes, a one-sided blowout at Oregon and tough hard-fought home loss to USC. While both losses were expected, they left many pundits wondering what would happen the rest of the way with the Buffs.
Fast-forward to Saturday and a road trip to hostile Mountain Edge Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. While the trip got off to a rocky start, the Buffaloes left Tempe with a 27-24 win on a late game-winning field goal. After being outplayed for most of the game, Colorado under the direction of star quarterback Shedeur Sanders found a way to put together just enough in the second half to overcome a 17-14 halftime deficit.
It gave Coach Prime his first Pac-12 conference win of the season and helped the Buffs surpass the three-win total many media outlets predicted they’d have.
Buffaloes Won, Coach Prime Not Happy With Effort
Since he arrived in Boulder last December, Sanders has been adamant that he and his team won’t make excuses. The legendary Hall of Famer has also said he won’t tolerate lackluster effort. Despite Saturday’s win, which in essence was huge, Sanders didn’t sound like someone who’s resting on his laurels. During his postgame presser Sanders was blunt as usual.
“Wonderful win — played like hot garbage. We got to figure this out. … I’m sick of it, I really am. … I expect to win in a better fashion than that. I don’t except mediocrity.”
Sanders is right, but a conference road win for a program that one a single game last season is a huge deal. Of course he wants them to play better, but a win is a win, and you can work on being better next week. Imagine how he’d feel if that game ended up being a loss, which it was very close to being.
Buffaloes Just Two Wins From Bowl Eligibility
Saturday’s win was vital for a few reasons, the first being it ended a two-game losing streak. Getting back in the winner’s circle was the first order of business. Secondly, it proved the Buffs could win a conference road game in a hostile environment.
But the biggest reason was it puts the team within two wins of being bowl eligible. With winnable home games versus Stanford and Arizona but tough road games at UCLA, Washington State, Oregon State and Utah, winning in Tempe keeps the team on schedule to reach the six wins needed to become eligible.
Sanders having his kicker dance a little after the game-winning kick was cool and even had Shedeur running towards the ASU student section to flash his watch. It’s believed they call this “Shedeuring.”
On to Stanford on Friday night in scenic Boulder.
