Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter missed the second half of the Buffaloes’ 34–7 win over Arizona on Saturday. He was dressed in street clothes as the team came out from the locker room after halftime.
Hunter aggravated the right shoulder injury he suffered last week versus Kansas State, according to Fox Sports reporter Allison Williams. However, Williams indicated the decision to rest Hunter was more of a precautionary measure with Colorado going into the half with a 28–7 lead.
Hunter came into the game tied as the No. 3 favorite for the Heisman Trophy after delivering big on both sides of the ball throughout the season.
On Saturday, he was limited defensively even before he left the game for good. Hunter had just one tackle in 13 plays on defense while logging two catches for 17 yards in 41 plays on offense. Through seven games, he has 51 receptions for 604 yards with 19 tackles, two interceptions and one tackle for loss.
The Buffaloes will need him healthy down the stretch if they want to factor into the Big 12 title race as they face Cincinnati, Texas Tech and Utah in the coming weeks before finishing with Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Arizona gave Colorado a gift with the opening kickoff
Arizona and head coach Brent Brennan apparently thought they could catch Colorado off guard on the opening kickoff, attempting an onside kick. The decision backfired and kickstarted the Buffaloes toward the blowout win on Saturday.
Colorado recovered what turned out to be an 11-yard kick, allowing the Buffaloes to begin their first possession on the Wildcats’ 46-yard line. They didn’t take long to score from there. Shedeur Sanders hit LaJohntay Wester for a 46-yard pass and Isaiah Augustave ran the ball in for a touchdown less than three minutes into the game.
The Wildcats soon fell behind 14–0 on Colorado’s second offensive series. Wester caught two passes for 32 yards, then drew a pass interference penalty on Jack Lutrell to give Colorado first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. Sanders got his first TD pass on a shovel toss to Drelon Miller.
Arizona cut the deficit to 14–7 on the following series, going 75 yards in 10 plays. The drive was highlighted by a 24-yard run from QB Noah Fifita, getting Hunter to spin around on a cut to the left.
The Buffaloes pulled away in the second quarter with two touchdowns to go ahead 28–7.
The first score came on a 16-yard pass to Will Sheppard in which the senior receiver made a one-handed catch against tight coverage from cornerback Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine. Sheppard got his left foot down in the end zone before going out of bounds.
On their next possession following a 36-yard punt by Michael Salgado-Medina and a 16-yard return from Jimmy Horn Jr,, the Buffaloes had to drive only 31 yards for another score which came on a 6-yard run by Sanders.
Sanders finished with 250 yards passing, completing 23 of 33 throws with two TDS and two picks. Wester had eight receptions for 127 yards, while Augustave rushed for 53 yards and a score on 14 carries.
With the win, Colorado improved to 5–2 overall and 3–1 in the Big 12. That ties them with Cincinnati for fourth place in the conference.
