BOULDER, Colo.– A pivotal turn of events before halftime of the Cincinnati Bearcats game at Colorado resulted in a major swing for the Buffaloes as they became bowl-eligible Saturday night with a 34-23 victory.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was 25-for-30 passing for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns to two-way player Travis Hunter. The back-breaker for UC came on a 34-yard touchdown toss with three seconds left in the first half. Both Sanders and Hunter will be high picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
UC was tied with Colorado twice but never held the lead.
Bearcats lose momentum to Colorado
The Bearcats and Buffaloes were knotted at 14 early in the second quarter, but Alejandro Mata put Colorado up with 3:28 left with a 28-yard field goal. The Bearcats had the ball and a chance to tie or lead at halftime if they delivered. With 33 seconds left and UC on the Colorado 46-yard line, it was fourth and a yard. On the quarterback keeper, Brendan Sorsby was stopped.
“Obviously in your head you think you’re going to get it,” Sorsby said. “I think they did a great job up front not allowing us to get much push. I’ve still got to find a way to get one yard.”
That left 31 seconds for quarterback Shedueur Sanders to operate, which on this night was too much. Sanders connected on a 34-yard touchdown to Travis Hunter before the half. Instead of a tie or lead, the Bearcats trailed by 10.
“We didn’t want to give them the ball back for obvious reasons,” UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. “To me, that was the play of the game. We give the ball back to them and they were able to go. We didn’t put our defense in a good spot.”
The Buffaloes added an Isaiah Augustave rushing touchdown late in the third quarter to make it 17 unanswered points. Down 31-14, UC cut the lead on a Nathan Hawks field goal, then Sorsby connected on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Joe Royer with 3:51 left. A 2-point conversion failed, and Mata barely cleared the crossbar on a 47-yard field goal, which made for the 34-23 final.
Former WCW, WWE star Goldberg takes in UC vs. Colorado
Wrestling legend Bill Goldberg has a son, Gage Goldberg on the Buffaloes. Before he was power-slamming foes, Bill Goldberg was a defensive tackle with the Georgia Bulldogs and later the Atlanta Falcons, where one of his teammates was Deion Sanders.
Cincinnati Bearcats hoops note
Wes Miller’s squad played a “secret” scrimmage against Pittsburgh of the ACC Saturday. Sources reported a 71-62 Pitt victory, but the indication is that the Bearcats played 11 guys. For the record, they lost both of their “secret” scrimmages last season. Often the strategy is different as teams use it to prepare for the season. As a measuring tool, USA TODAY Preseason No. 1 Kansas lost to Preseason No. 16 Arkansas 85-69 Friday night. UC is No. 20.
