As the month of September comes to an end, Big 12 action is full swing across the conference. While every game is important, there was one game in particular that made national headlines which was Colorado taking on UCF. Both teams came into the day with a 1-0 record in Big 12 play as Big Noon Kickoff made the trip to Orlando.
The fans there went wild, and the Bounce House was rocking all game long. While most expected the Knights to run away with this one, it turned out the Buffaloes had something to say about that. Here are my three takeaways from Colorado’s 48-21 win over UCF.
Colorado is Better Than Expected
Coming into the season, the Buffaloes were picked to finish eleventh in the Big 12 preseason media poll. After watching this team the last two weeks, they certainly don’t look like the eleventh best team in the conference to me. Their defense flew to the football all game long against UCF and had four takeaways. They did an excellent job slowing down UCF running back RJ Harvey outside of one long passing play early in the game.
Offensively, quarterback Shedeur Sanders was fantastic once again as he tossed three touchdown passes. It was nice to see him actually got some help in the running game as the offense rushed for a season high 128 yards. Plus, their offensive line played much better this week against a good UCF front.
We all know the talent this team has at the skill position. They are some of the best in the Big 12 and when you have two of the top 20 players in college football with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, they can make up for a lot of weaknesses in other areas. But what is going to make this team dangerous is when they can put it all together as a team. I know still early but I wouldn’t count out this Colorado team just yet.
UCF Made Too Many Mistakes
The Knights picked a bad day to have a bad day because Colorado made them pay for their mistakes. The offense turned the ball over four times and just couldn’t get out of their own way on some drives. They also struggled to extend drives on third down which didn’t help either.
While the offense was disappointing, the defense didn’t play much better. They allowed Colorado to convert almost half of their third down attempts and let Colorado push them around up front at times.
This team is better than what they played on Saturday, and it was disappointing to see them play so poorly at home on prime-time television. But at the end of the day, you cant turn the ball over that many times and commit a bunch of penalties and expect to beat a talented football team.
Travis Hunter For Heisman
I know that we aren’t even in the month of October, but Colorado’s Travis Hunter looks like the best player in college football regardless of position. The man is out there intercepting passes on defense and catching passes on offense. He simply can do it all and he makes it looks so easy.
Since 2010, there have only been two non-quarterbacks to win the Heisman Trophy. I hope that changes this year because we have a generational player with on our hands with Travis Hunter. He’s out there playing nearly every snap, and he is arguably the best receiver in college football and one of the best corners too. I know Colorado’s record may not be the best at the end of the season but what we are witnessing on Saturdays from him is pure greatness.
There is a lot of unknown about this season in college football but the one thing I do know is that Travis Hunter is the best player in college football and should be in New York come December.
