BOULDER, Colo. — It took a miracle, but the Colorado Buffaloes pulled out a 38-31 overtime victory over the Baylor Bears Saturday night before a homecoming crowd of 52,794 at Folsom Field in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Heisman candidate Shedeur Sanders completed a Hail Mary 43-yard touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester on the last play of regulation and then Micah Welch scored from a yard out in the first overtime period as the Buffaloes (3-1, 1-0) won the Big 12 opener for both teams in their return to the league after 14 years in the Pac-12.
Baylor (2-2, 0-1) was poised to answer, camped on the 2-yard line after a 13-yard pickup by quarterback
Sawyer Robertson. But
Dominic Richardson fumbled the ball into the end zone on a hit by cornerback Travis Hunter, with the call on the field reviewed and upheld.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bears (2-2, 0-1), who seemed to have the game in their grasps with Colorado out of timeouts and down to the final two seconds in regulation. But Sanders rolled to his left to give himself some time and heaved the ball into the end zone as Wester caught it between a pair of BU defensive backs.
Making his second-consecutive start of the season and sixth overall, Robertson completed 11-of-21 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 45-yard run on a fourth-and-one play in the second quarter that gave the Bears a 24-10 lead.
Hounded all night by a relentless Baylor pressure, Sanders was sacked eight times – the Bears’ most since 10 in the Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss three years ago. But he threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns and also scored the Buffs’ first touchdown on a two-yard TD run.
After going 0-for-6 in the third quarter, Robertson was 3-for-3 for 45 yards on an eight-play, 61-yard drive, capping it with a perfect 24-yard touchdown strike to
Hal Presley to give the Bears the lead with 5:43 left in the game.
When the defense had back-to-back sacks that pushed Colorado back to its own 4-yard line, Baylor had a chance to throw the knockout punch when
Josh Cameron returned a punt 20 yards to the Buffaloes’ 26.
But
Isaiah Hankins missed a 45-yard field goal wide right with 2:16 left that would have extended the Bears’ lead to double digits for the second time.
On the drive at the end, Sanders was sacked twice, but he was able to convert on fourth-and-one with a keeper and then connected with Wester for the game-tying touchdown.
Special teams played a huge role in the first half, with Cameron setting up the first score with a 54-yard punt return and then Nevada transfer
Jamaal Bell scoring on a 100-yard kickoff return that gave the Bears a 17-10 lead after the Buffs had knotted the score with a 43-yard field goal by Alejandro Mata.
Robertson had a solid first half, completing 8-of-12 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown and also scoring on a 45-yard TD run that gave BU a 24-10 lead with 4:19 left.
But with a chance to pad that lead, Robertson threw a perfect pass that was dropped.
Kept quiet for most of the half by a swarming Baylor defense, Sanders got the Buffaloes back in it with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Miller. Gordon appeared to drop Miller around the 35-yard line, but a review confirmed the call on the field that the sophomore receiver’s knee never touched.
The Baylor offense provided its own highlight reel, with Robertson finding
Monaray Baldwin for a 30-yard TD pass early in the second quarter and then using his feet to go 45 yards on a fourth-and-one play.
On Bell’s kickoff return for a touchdown, which was Baylor’s first since
Richard Reese versus West Virginia last season, safety
Michael Allen had the clearing block that set Bell free as he ran the last 60 yards all by himself.
The 100-yard return tied the Bears’ record for the longest kickoff, shared by Kalief Muhammad (1996, vs. Oregon), Robert Quiroga (2003, vs. Texas Tech) and Trestan Ebner (2020, vs. Kansas).
Led by Robertson, with 82 yards on nine attempts, Baylor finished with 165 yards on the ground and 313 yards total offense. With the sacks added in, Colorado was held to 91 yards rushing on 42 carries for a 2.2-yard average.
Steve Linton and
Keaton Thomas had two sacks apiece, while
Matt Jones had nine solo tackles, 10 total and one sack.
Returning home, Baylor will host BYU next Saturday at McLane Stadium, with kickoff time and TV information released later tonight or Sunday. Off to a 3-0 start, the Cougars led 13th-ranked Kansas State, 31-6, Saturday night in Provo.