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Colorado football achieves bowl eligibility with a win against Cincinnati

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Coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado football team are headed to a bowl game.

They made it happen Saturday night by beating Cincinnati 34-23 at home to improve their record to 6-2 this season with four games remaining in the regular season.

That gives them the minimum number of wins to qualify for a postseason bowl game in Sanders' second season. This also keeps them in the thick of the Big 12 Conference championship race after getting two more great performances from quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter.

Sanders completed 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter caught nine of those passes for 153 yards and both touchdowns.

Cincinnati (5-3) had cut Colorado's lead to 31-23 with 3:51 left after driving 81 yards in 11 plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown catch by tight end Joe Royer.

But the Bearcats missed the ensuing two-point pass attempt. Then the Buffaloes answered with a 47-yard field goal with 99 seconds left to extend their lead to 34-23 in front of a sellout crowd of 53,202 at Folsom Field in Boulder.

It's only the second time since 2007 that Colorado has won at least six games. It was just two years ago that the Buffaloes finished with a 1-11 record and fired their previous coach, paving the way for the arrival of “Coach Prime.” A postseason bowl game would also be just the third since 2007, including the pandemic 2020 season when the Buffs went to the Alamo Bowl and finished 4-2.

By winning six games, Sanders will receive a $150,000 bonus from Colorado and $100,000 for each regular-season win thereafter, according to his contract. His contract also includes a bonus of at least $150,000 for an invitation to a bowl game. His regular guaranteed compensation this year is $5.7 million.

His team is 4-1 in Big 12 play and has an off weekend next week before returning to Texas Tech on Nov. 9.

Was Shedeur Sanders injured?

Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, appeared to suffer a hip or leg injury while running 4 yards for a first down to the Cincinnati 7-yard line in the third quarter. He ended up falling forward but twisted on a tackle and looked uncomfortable after the Buffaloes scored a 7-yard touchdown run one play later that helped extend Colorado's lead to 31-14.

He was subsequently treated on the sideline and returned to the game on Colorado's next possession. But he only attempted one pass on that drive and instead passed the ball on running plays as the Buffs tried to run out the clock. The extent of the injury was unclear, but was not enough to immediately take him out of the game.

He attempted just five passes after the injury and completed four. After that, Colorado still stalled a bit with two punts and a field goal in the next three possessions.

Great first half from Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders

The Buffs led 24-14 at halftime after receiving two touchdown catches from two-way star Travis Hunter. Its quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, completed his first 15 passes and led the offense to scores on all four possessions in the first half – three touchdowns and a field goal, including Sanders' 4-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter.

Cincinnati tried to keep up and even tied the game at 14-14 after an interception was wiped out by Colorado defensive back Preston Hodge. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby had thrown a deep pass that Hodge caught and returned to midfield, but the play was called off when Hodge was cited for pass interference on the play after he appeared to grab Cincinnati receiver Tony Johnson by the hip.

The ball was then placed at the Colorado 13-yard line and the Bearcats scored a touchdown one play later, helping tie the game with 9:31 left before halftime.

But that was the best they could do in the first half. The Colorado defense stopped Cincinnati on the Bearcats' next possession, stuffing them on fourth-and-1 at the Colorado 46-yard line. With 33 seconds left in the first half, Sanders took the lead and capped the ensuing drive with a 34-yard touchdown toss to Hunter, who was wide open on the right side of the field.

Hunter finished the first half with seven catches for 113 yards after sitting out his last two games after halftime with a shoulder injury.

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