Colorado’s October slump finally cracked open Saturday, and the Buffaloes had to survive a full dose of drama before they could walk away with it.
After Kansas State erased a late deficit with a touchdown in the final minute of regulation, Colorado steadied itself in overtime and finished the job with an 11-yard strike from Isaac Wilson to Charlie Williams for a 27-24 win at Folsom Field. The result snapped Colorado’s five-game losing streak and pushed the Buffaloes to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play. Kansas State dropped to 4-4.
For Deion Sanders, it was the kind of win that buys a little breathing room. For Colorado, it was even more basic than that: the Buffaloes finally got a running game to go with Wilson, and that balance carried them through a game they could have let slip away.
Richard Young was the engine. Sanders had promised him a larger role during the week, and Young delivered with 120 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. He opened the scoring with a 2-yard run to cap a six-play, 60-yard drive, then later powered through the middle for a 22-yard score that put Colorado ahead 21-14 early in the fourth quarter.
JaQuail Smith added another burst of momentum in the third quarter, racing 47 yards for a touchdown behind a key block from right tackle Leon Bell. Smith finished with 63 yards on eight carries, and Colorado’s ground game as a whole piled up a season-high 222 yards.
That mattered because Wilson didn’t have to carry the offense by himself. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown without an interception, while Colorado finished with 407 total yards. Joseph Williams led the receivers with five catches for 89 yards, and DeAndre Moore Jr. added three grabs for 60 yards.
Moore’s 33-yard catch on third-and-nine helped move Colorado into Kansas State territory early in the third quarter. Later, a 38-yard tunnel screen to Joseph Williams set up Young’s second touchdown. The offensive line, in turn, did its part by creating the space that made the run game possible.
Colorado’s defense had to work just as hard to make sure the offense’s good work wasn’t wasted.
Kansas State came in without quarterbacks Avery Johnson and Jacob Knuth. Dillon Duff started, but after three possessions the Wildcats turned to Erie High School graduate Blake Barnett. Colorado got pressure early, with Yamil Talib recording his first sack as a Buffalo and the front continuing to disrupt Kansas State throughout the afternoon.
Talib finished with eight tackles and two sacks. Gideon Lampron was everywhere, piling up a game-high 14 tackles with eight solo stops, four tackles for loss and two sacks. Toby Anene and Immanuel Ezeogu combined for another sack, giving Colorado five on the day.
The Buffaloes held Kansas State to 117 first-half yards, their lowest first-half total allowed this season. Still, the Wildcats found enough answers to keep hanging around, especially when Barnett escaped the pocket or worked the tight ends.
After Smith’s touchdown made it 14-7, Barnett responded with back-to-back completions to Linkon Cure. The second turned into a 33-yard touchdown when Cure broke through Colorado defenders and into the end zone.
Colorado’s own mistakes helped keep the game tight. DeKalon Taylor broke free for about 30 yards in the second quarter, but the run ended in disaster when he fumbled near the goal line and the ball went through the end zone for a touchback. That wiped out a chance to build a 14-0 lead.
Kansas State then answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive helped by a roughing-the-passer penalty. Barnett found Josh Manning for a 28-yard score, and the teams went to halftime tied 7-7.
The Buffaloes also had a third-down conversion erased before halftime by an illegal-man-downfield penalty, and later in the fourth quarter pre-snap issues hurt a possession when Colorado needed to protect its seven-point lead. Kansas State missed field goals from 44 and 43 yards, but Colorado still couldn’t land the late knockout punch in regulation.
Barnett got one final chance with 55 seconds left. A 31-yard completion to Jaron Tibbs pushed Kansas State to Colorado’s 3-yard line, and Barnett eventually found Garrett Oakley for the tying touchdown as time expired.
The Wildcats initially lined up for a potential two-point try to win it. After a Colorado timeout, coach Collin Klein chose the extra point instead, sending the game to overtime.
That opened the door for Colorado, and the Buffaloes finally walked through it. Kansas State settled for a 25-yard field goal in overtime after Cree Thomas and Boo Carter broke up passes in the end zone, and Wilson answered by finding Charlie Williams - the same receiver who caught the winning touchdown against Georgia Tech in the season opener.
Colorado still has plenty to clean up, especially in late-game execution. But on Halloween, the Buffaloes got the result they needed, and they did it with a path to bowl eligibility still alive: three wins over their final four games.
Next up is a road trip to Arizona State.
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