Home win propels Colorado into matchup with BYU
By LEOPOLDO RIVERA IV | 365 Sports
Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes took care of business against the Wyoming Cowboys, winning 37-20.
Under center, the Buffs made the switch back to Kaidon Salter, who confidently took back the reins in his third start. Finding nine separate targets, he went 18/28 for 304 yards and three touchdowns in the air.
“You’ve seen glimpses of what he is capable of doing. We just want that consistently,” Sanders said postgame. “When we get that consistently, we’re going to be hard to deal with.”
On the ground, Salter added 86 yards and a score to boost morale in the offense. The 37 points are a new season high. Receivers Joseph Williams, Sincere Brown and Omarion Miller each had a receiving touchdown, while running back Simeon Price scored as well.
Ecplipsing 400 total yards against a stout defense, Colorado got the wheels of their offense back on track.
Defensively, Colorado started fast, limiting the Cowboys to just 3 points in the first half. The unit was able to make improvements after struggling through the first three weeks, but revisited those old demons in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Arden Walker had the best game, racking up six total tackles, with 1.5 sacks and a safety.
“Defense, we got work to do,” Sanders said. “The key thing for a coach is nothing cheap, nothing deep. It’s been the second week consecutively that we’ve given up the deep ball, cheap runs.”
They’ll have to figure out the problem quickly before welcoming the BYU Cougars into Folsom Field on Saturday night.
Led by freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, the Cougars’ offense poses a significant threat to the Buffs. In their last game against East Carolina, he completed 18 of 25 passes for 246 yards and a passing and rushing touchdown.
The strength of the Cougars’ offense comes from the ground game. In three games, they’ve already run for 797 yards and nine touchdowns as a team.
Colorado will have an uphill climb at home, facing the best defense they’ve seen this season. The Cougars’ defense has allowed only a single touchdown in three games, showcasing the unit’s dominance.
Another late start could spell disaster for the Buffs, who could be without left tackle Jordan Seaton, who’s on the injury report after leaving against Wyoming. Colorado will need to fire on all cylinders to match BYU’s attack. A physical cross-border matchup will be inevitable as the Buffs try to build on their win from last week.
Kickoff is set for 9:15 p.m. CST on ESPN.