College Football Odyssey’s belief in the PRIME era is evidenced by the fact that one of our senior correspondents, Matt Anctil, permanently resides in the Rocky Mountain High state. The Odyssey is appreciative that Matt was able to get back to his journalistic duties 2 weeks after injuries he sustained in an alarming field-storming incident incurred after the Buffs’ miracle win over Colorado State (extra appreciative because if Matt’s injuries were of longer duration, our lawyer told us we might not prevail in a legal action in regard to his work-related injuries).
Matt’s report:
Saturday, on a beautiful Boulder day, Folsom Field was energized to the roof! USC prevailed over Coach Prime’s Buffs, 48-41, in a wildly entertaining game. The game was a rollercoaster affair with USC dominating the first half only to have the Buffs fight back in the second half. Colorado could easily have folded when down 41-14, but, instead fought back like a horde of Raging Buffaloes.
Caleb Williams was fantastic. The USC passing game was polished and exacting. Complementing the Heisman Trophy winner was a speedy rushing attack.
Shedeur Sanders nearly pulled out an epic second-half comeback, yet again putting his team on his shoulders.
Quick hits:
The Buffs’ running game, ranked next-to-last in the country, exploded for 195 rushing yards, taking some of the pressure off Sanders.
Two self-inflicted wounds may have cost the Buffs the chance at a stunning upset. An incredibly bad decision by the CU punter to attempt a rugby-style punt, taking 5 fatal steps, was blocked by USC and quickly resulted in 7 points for the Trojans. The second gaffe was a number of called run plays late in the fourth quarter after CU had exhausted its timeouts and needed to preserve time. Those calls resulted in the need for an onside kick, which proved to be unsuccessful.
The quality of officiating was consistent with the demise of the PAC 12.
That the Buffaloes could produce a stirring second-half comeback without 2 of their brightest stars, Travis Hunter and Shilo Sanders, was impressive. To help fill the void of Hunter’s receiving prowess, Freshman Omarion Miller made a star turn in his debut with 7 catches for 196 yards.