Randon Fontenette has a thing for late kickoffs and Texas teams, and Friday night at Folsom Field gives him both.
The Colorado safety, who grew up in Freeport, Texas, said Houston’s visit carries extra weight because the Cougars are one of his “hometown schools.” He said the matchup has a different edge for him whenever a Texas program is on the other sideline.
“Every time I play a Texas school, even at my previous school, it was personal,” Fontenette said.
The Buffaloes need a win to keep their bowl hopes alive, and they need their defense to start creating more short fields. Colorado has gone without a turnover in four of its past five games, a stretch Fontenette knows has been frustrating.
“It’s kind of tough, you know, not getting the takeaways you feel like you set for yourself coming into the season,” he said. “I’m starving for a turnover.”
He paused, then corrected himself.
“Hopefully - well, it’s going to happen. Not hopefully, but I mean, it’s going to happen,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep going, and you know, keep our head up.”
Colorado went to Arizona State believing it could win and came away with a 20-10 loss. Fontenette said the response has to be about staying locked in on what the defense can control.
“Adversity happens, and some stuff you can’t control, some stuff you can,” he said. “As a defense, we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
Houston quarterback Conner Weigman is not the kind of passer who gives away easy ones. The Cypress, Texas, native has 22 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in 257 attempts this season, and Fontenette said he’s long been aware of the kind of player he is.
“Real experienced guy, played a lot of football. You know, he’s a winner.
You look at his record,” Fontenette said. “Has that dog mentality.
He’s willing to put the team on his back.”
Still, Fontenette believes Colorado has the pieces to make things difficult.
“We can’t just talk about it,” he said. “You know, we’ve got to do it.”
That mindset comes from a career that’s already taken him plenty of places. Fontenette began at TCU, then moved on to Vanderbilt, where he started 24 games over two seasons.
His first career interception came against Alabama on the opening possession in 2024, and he returned it for a touchdown in a Commodores win. Before college, he was a four-star prospect at Brazosport High School, where he played quarterback and safety.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said he remembered Fontenette from the portal and called him “a phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal football player.”
Fontenette has 75 tackles this season, which ranks sixth in the Big 12.
Colorado’s secondary has been stretched thin, and that has pushed more responsibility onto Fontenette. At Arizona State, Ben Finneseth started next to him for the first time, and Fontenette said the veteran safety handled it well.
“He stayed down for a long time,” Fontenette said, “so I’m kind of excited he’s getting his opportunity.”
Deion Sanders has challenged his young cornerbacks this week to finish plays, putting the burden on desire rather than instruction.
“You can’t teach a man how to finish a play. You’ve got to want it,” he said. “You’ve got to want the ball more than your opposition.”
Fontenette said the corners looked good in practice, but he knows the real test comes under the lights.
“You kind of really won’t know until the bullets are flying,” he said.
Behind him, linebacker Gideon Lampron has been named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, and Fontenette sees exactly why.
“A man on a mission,” Fontenette said. “He’s relentless. He wants it bad.”
Even with the losses piling up, Fontenette said this season has still been a “fun year” because of the lessons it has brought and the people around him. He said the defense is full of pro players, regardless of the record.
“Seeing the type of men that I’m going to war with,” he said. “I mean, it’s fun. I wouldn’t want to go through it with anybody else.”
In Other News...
Colorado Just Got A Recruiting Boost Fans Will Read Into
Colorado picked up a meaningful boost on the recruiting trail when four-star tackle LiMarcus Jones decided to stay committed after briefly flipping to Mississippi State. For a program that has spent plenty of time fighting to keep top prospects in the fold, retaining Jones gives the Buffaloes a little more stability in a 2027 class that already sits fourth in the Big 12.
The timing matters because Jones said Colorados coaching staff, including Deion Sanders, told him they will remain with the program in 2027. In a recruiting cycle where coaching continuity can shape everything from trust to class momentum, that kind of message carries real weight, and it gives Colorado a stronger footing as it tries to hold the rest of the class together. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Injury Report Suddenly Raises A New Lineup Question
A positive injury update gave Colorado a little more to sort through this week, with linebacker Tyler Martinez suddenly listed as questionable for the Buffaloes Week 11 game. Martinez had been presumed out for the season after a foot injury, so his status alone changes the conversation around a defense that has had to keep adjusting on the fly. Other players, including Braylon Edwards, also showed improvement on the report, offering a small lift for a team still managing several health concerns.
Martinez has not played since Week 4, but his possible return would add another option to the linebacking rotation alongside Gideon Lampron and Liona Lefau. Even so, Colorado is not out of the woods yet, with injuries to Welch and Scudero still a concern. For a Buffaloes defense trying to stabilize late in the season, the question is no longer just who is available, but how quickly the group can absorb another possible change. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Faces A Season-Saving Test With Bowl Hopes On The Line
The stakes at Folsom Field could hardly be clearer for Colorado, which gets No. 16 Houston on Friday night in a game that feels like a season marker as much as a conference showdown. The Buffaloes need to win their final three games to reach bowl eligibility, and this one is the first and most immediate hurdle in that chase, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.
Houston brings a ranked opponent into Boulder and a quarterback in Conner Weigman who gives the Cougars a steady presence in a game Colorado cannot afford to let slip away. For the Buffaloes, it is the kind of November test that can either keep postseason hopes alive or leave the margin for error gone before the final stretch even begins. [Read more 🡒]