Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 46-43 double-overtime loss to the Stanford Cardinal in head coach Deion Sanders’ second Pac-12 home game at Folsom Field on Friday:
1. This is was 6-6 looks like, kids. Or … 5-7. Remember that stuff that got Coach Prime heated in Tempe? Yeah, well, half of it is still there. On the plus side, hey, the Buffs shook off that slow-start thing, right? CU came out rolling one-win Stanford like the Homecoming cupcake they were supposed to be, notching TDs on their first four drives to take a commanding 29-0 lead. Then the old Buffs showed up: Missed assignments, bad angles, bad fits, inconsistent pass protection and kickoffs — again — that went out of bounds. Again. Oh, and penalties, penalties, penalties. Early in the third quarter, Stanford scored 19 points in a span of just 3:46. The Buffs got USC-ed in their own house.
2. Travis Hunter is bionic … to a point. If you’d have guessed that CU’s two-way star would have a better night playing wideout than at cornerback, congrats. Like most things on this Jekyll-and-Hyde evening, your view of No. 12’s night could be seen as half-full or half-empty. On the offensive side, the Georgia native was reliable and electric, notching a team-high 11 catches for 127 yards and two scores at the end of regulation, hanging on to one end-zone throw despite a major pop from Stanford’s Mitch Leigber. Defensively? The nation’s former No. 1 recruit has had, um, better nights. After a suffocating start, all those snaps — ESPN tracked him with 104 with 11:18 to go in regulation — started to take their toll on coverage and tackling. Especially where Elic Ayomanor was concerned. The 6-foot-2 Canadian wideout finished the fourth quarter with 12 catches for 264 yards and a pair of scores, all collegiate highs. He beat Hunter by a few steps on an incompletion at the start of the game, a harbinger of some uncomfortable moments that were to come.
3. House music warning!: We’ve learned that life with Deion Sanders means seeing a bunch of stuff you’ve never seen at a football stadium before. Apparently, that includes hearing a few new things, too. Take the start of the second quarter, when officials channeled the football equivalent of the police knocking on your front door to ask you to turn the music down because of complaints from the neighbors. The zebras stopped play, turned on the microphones and admonished the Folsom Field PA announcer for playing music while Stanford was approaching the line of scrimmage. A warning was issued to the CU PA crew that continued musical interludes while the Cardinal were on offense would result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. “Will the PA announcer stop playing music while the Stanford offense is on the field?” They did.
4. Celebrity watch: Half the NBA did not, as they did when USC was in town, turn out to witness Late Night With The Buffs in the flesh. But the roll call was fine on its own: From the football world, former Broncos wideout Emmanuel Sanders and former Steelers/Jaguars QB Byron Leftwich were spotted on the sidelines. On the entertainment front, CU got cameos from actors Cedric The Entertainer, Anthony Anderson and Luke Grimes. Bonus: Ember, the current Ralphie, made it to midfield during her traditional pregame run. All the stars were aligned. In many cases, literally.
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