BOULDER, Colo. — Shedeur Sanders threw a TD pass to Michael Harrison in the second overtime after leading a 98-yard drive to tie the game with 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and No. 18 Colorado rallied to beat Colorado State 43-35 early Sunday in front of a full house packed with celebrities.
Sanders connected with Harrison for an 18-yard score and then found an open Xavier Weaver on the 2-point conversion.
The Colorado defense took it from there, with Trevor Woods intercepting Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s pass on fourth-and-23 to end the game at nearly 12:30 a.m. MST.
The Rams were a 23 1/2-point underdog in the first Rocky Mountain Showdown since 2019.
A CSU touchdown was called back on their second-overtime drive due to an illegal block penalty.
Colorado State had tied the game at 35 by matching Colorado's touchdown in the first overtime. Colorado had taken a 35-28 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to Harrison.
It was a 45-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Jimmy Horn Jr. – and a two-point conversion caught by Harrison – that capped a 98-yard touchdown drive to tie the game in the final minute before the game was ultimately sent to OT.
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A 35-yard touchdown grab on a crucial third-down play by Colorado State tight end Dallin Holker – his second score of the game – had put CSU up 11 early in the frame before replacement kicker Alejandro Mata kicked his second field goal of the fourth quarter.
The third quarter saw the teams exchange blocked field goal attempts and a CSU turnover deep in Colorado territory, as the neither team put points on the board in the frame.
Colorado played the second half without two-way star Travis Hunter, who was taken to a hospital after absorbing a hard hit to the midsection on a second-quarter incompletion.
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Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter taken to hospital in 2nd half of game vs CSU
An electric first half had everything you could ask for from a rivalry game: Two defensive scores, some flashy offense and some after-the-whistle chippiness.
Leading the way for CSU in the first half were the connection between quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi wideout Tory Horton (8 completions and a trick-play passing touchdown by Horton) and a defense that held CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders in check and intercepted the first Sanders pass of the year.
Shilo Sanders, a Buffs defensive back and son of head coach Deion Sanders, returned an interception 80 yards for a score on Colorado State's opening drive. CSU recovered a Travis Hunter fumble and took it to the house to take a 14-7 lead.
Another storyline: The laundry was flying throughout the first 30 minutes. CSU was flagged 11 times in the first half, while CU was called for five penalties.
