A Hail Mary and premature torn goal post
BOULDER, Colo. — LaJohntay Wester caught a 43-yard Hail Mary from Shedeur Sanders with no time remaining in regulation and Travis Hunter forced a fumble at the 1-yard line in overtime and Colorado rallied for an improbable 38-31 win over Baylor on a drizzly Saturday night.
Micah Welch’s short plunge in overtime gave the Buffaloes their first lead since the opening quarter.
Hunter, the two-way standout for the Buffaloes, jarred the ball loose from Baylor running back Dominic Richardson at the goal line and the ball rolled out of the end zone.
The fans rushed the field and tore down a goal post before officials confirmed the call.
On the last play of regulation, Sanders rolled to his left and lofted a perfect pass to Wester, who shed his defender and cradled the ball as he fell to the turf.
The officials upheld the catch upon review and Alejandro Mata made the extra point to force overtime.
“Great, great, great, great, great win,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “These young men were resilient. They never gave up, never surrendered.”
The desperation heave by Shedeur Sanders and the Buffaloes (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) comes three days shy of the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle at Michigan,” when the Buffaloes beat the Wolverines on Kordell Stewart’s 64-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook.
The nationally televised broadcast showed the 1994 play just seconds before Sanders connected with Wester.
Asked where this game ranked, Deion Sanders simply responded: “I don’t rank games. I just love the Ws. By any means necessary. I love ’em.”
Baylor turned in plenty of big plays, including Jamaal Bell going untouched for a 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter and soon after Sawyer Robertson breaking free for a 45-yard TD on fourth-and-1 to put Baylor up by 14 points.
After the Buffaloes tied it up in the third quarter, Hal Presley made a one-handed grab for a 24-yard touchdown with 5:43 remaining to give Baylor (2-2, 0-1) back the lead.
The Bears had a chance to secure the win but Isaiah Hankins’ 45-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.
It set the stage for Sanders and the Buffaloes.
“Heart-wrenching loss,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “Haven’t really been a part of something like that, especially down to the last play of overtime. … Very hard to take. The team is very is gutted right now, and so frustrated. We’re probably going to be hurting all the way back to Waco.”
Constantly on the move, Sanders threw for 341 yards. He also was sacked eight times.
Hunter finished with seven catches for 130 yards, while also recording three tackles on defense.
His play on both sides of the ball has put him in the Heisman conversation.
This should only bolster his case.
Omarion Miller made the most of his first catch of the season, snagging a deep pass from Sanders and bouncing away from a tackle by Corey Gordon Jr. — while keeping his knee off the turf.
Miller’s 58-yard TD was upheld after review and brought Colorado within 24-17 at halftime.
The Buffaloes made their return to Big 12 Conference play a success. They left the conference following the 2010 season to join the Pac-12 only to return this season.
Rain or shine
Deion Sanders made a big deal in his news conference earlier in the week about the probability of rain — he downplayed it — and whether his team will work on wet-ball drills. The rain materialized.
The takeaway
Baylor: Altering the late-game defense.
Just before Wester’s Hail Mary catch, Will Sheppard got past the Baylor secondary and nearly caught a pass that could’ve resulted in the tying score.
Colorado: The special teams struggled. Not only did Bell turn in a 100-yard kickoff return, the Bears also had a 54-yard punt return. “Special teams was horrible,” Deion Sanders said.
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