Coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado road warriors did it again, this time at Texas Tech in another hostile environment on national television.
They beat the Red Raiders, 41-27, boosting their quest to crash the Big 12 Conference championship game and earn a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
It was their fourth straight win on the road and came with more big performances from Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado defense.
Hunter, the cornerback-receiver, enhanced his Heisman Trophy campaign with nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback and son of Deion, completed 30 of 43 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
In the meantime, the Colorado defense came up with seven sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries. The Buffaloes also mostly shut down the Red Raiders after falling into a 13-0 first-quarter deficit in front of an announced crowd of 60,229 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
The Buffaloes (7-2) entered the game ranked 20th in the playoff rankings and tied for second place in the Big 12 with Iowa State. But after Iowa State lost Saturday at Kansas, 45-36, the Buffaloes now control their own destiny in the Big 12.
They have three regular-season games remaining, starting next week, when they host Utah in a Big Noon game on Fox.
It’s quite a contrast from two years ago, when the Buffs finished 1-11, prompting the hiring of Sanders in December 2022. Sanders’ record in two seasons at CU is now 11-10.
Tech got 137 yards rushing on 31 carries from running back Tahj Brooks but fell to 6-4 on the season.
The Colorado defense sealed it at the end when the Buffaloes swatted the ball loose from Tech quarterback Behren Morton in his own end zone, leading to a 6-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Colorado safety Shilo Sanders with 51 second left.
Here are the highlights of the game:
Colorado vs. Texas Tech highlights
Texas Tech makes it a one-score game
Uh-oh Colorado. The Buffaloes let Texas Tech cut the lead to 34-27 with 2:12 left but recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt by the Red Raiders. Colorado now just needs to run out the clock after getting the ball at midfield.
Tech made it close on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Conyers, who raced down the left sideline and pulled the ball down for the score. It was quarterback Behren Morton’s second touchdown pass of the day.
Tahj Brooks breaks Texas Tech rushing record
Texas Tech senior running back Tahj Brooks just set a school career record for rushing yards when he made a 25-yard gain in the fourth quarter against Colorado. He broke the previous school record of 4,219 set by Byron Hanspard in the 1990s. The run gave Brooks 124 yards for the game but Tech still trailed Colorado 34-20 in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Buffs extend lead in fourth quarter
Colorado now controls its own destiny in its quest for the Big 12 championship and is up 34-20 with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter at Texas Tech. The Buffaloes extended their lead with a 33-yard field goal from kicker Alejandro Mata after getting an interception to set up the 24-yard scoring drive from linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, a transfer from Charlotte.
Colorado has scored on six of its last seven possessions. If the Buffs can hold on, they will be alone in second place in the Big 12 standings behind BYU after Iowa State lost Saturday at Kansas.
Chippy, emotional game winding down
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire took the microphone early in the fourth quarter to address the home crowd in Lubbock.
“Stop throwing stuff on the field!” McGuire said.
Debris had been coming down from the crowd, and it wasn’t just the traditional tortilla tosses. Much of the trash thrown from the crowd has ended up on the Colorado sideline.
Colorado held a 31-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Big opportunity for Colorado after Iowa State loss
Kansas beat Iowa State Saturday, 45-36, creating a big opportunity for Colorado. The Buffaloes entered their game at Texas Tech Saturday tied with Iowa State for second place in the Big 12 with a 4-1 record in league play.
Now that Iowa State has lost another Big 12 game, the Buffs control their own destiny in their quest to get into the Big 12 championship game Dec. 7. A win against Tech would put the Buffs no worse than alone in second place with three regular-season games remaining after this.
BYU started the day atop the Big 12 standings with a 5-0 league record.
Colorado had a 31-20 lead at Tech at the end of the third quarter.
End of third quarter: Colorado 31, Texas Tech 20
A fake punt attempt by Texas Tech backfired in a big way for the Red Raiders. Facing fourth down and 5 at their own 31-yard line, the Red Raiders attempted a pass out of a punt formation and threw the ball incomplete.
As a result, Colorado took over at the Tech 31 yard-line and needed just four plays to score a touchdown and take a 31-20 lead with 1:18 left in the third quarter.
The touchdown came from two-way star Travis Hunter, who caught a second-down pass from Shedeur Sanders and raced down the left sideline for the 24-yard score.
Hunter has six catches for 95 yards. Colorado has scored on five straight possessions.
Colorado retakes the lead
Colorado is rolling on offense now and just took a 24-20 lead after getting a 5-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to receiver Will Sheppard.
Sanders lofted the ball in the right corner of the end zone, where Sheppard, a transfer from Vanderbilt, reeled it in to cap a 73-yard scoring drive with 4:25 left in the third quarter.
The Buffaloes have scored on their last four possessions after punting on their first four.
Sanders has completed 21 of 30 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas Tech retakes the lead
Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks took a fourth-down pitch and scored from 2 yards out to help the Red Raiders retake the lead, 20-17, with 7:52 left in the third quarter against Colorado.
Both teams have scored touchdowns to open the second half.
Brooks now has 21 carries for 45 yards as he seeks to break the school record for all-time rushing yardage.
Tech went nine plays for 66 yards on that drive to score its first points since the first quarter.
Colorado takes the lead
Colorado took its first lead of the game on its first possession of the second half after quarterback Shedeur Sanders scored a touchdown on a 7-yard rush up the middle. The Buffs lead 17-13 with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.
Sanders has completed 16 of 25 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown, to go along with his rushing touchdown.
Colorado’s defense has held Texas Tech scoreless on its last four drives and has held top running back Tahj Brooks to just 35 yards on 17 carries.
Colorado has now scored 17 unanswered points after Tech opened the game with 13 unanswered points.
Colorado receiver Jimmy Horn injured
Fox Sports reported that Colorado receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is questionable to return to play after suffering a lower body injury. It’s not clear what happened. But Horn is one of Colorado’s top receivers, ranking third on the team in catches before Saturday with 33. He did not record a catch Saturday vs. Texas Tech.
Halftime score: Texas Tech 13, Colorado 10
Colorado shook off some early rust to build some momentum and cut Texas Tech’s lead to 13-10 at halftime. The Buffaloes punted on their first four possessions of the game and fell into a 13-0 hole but scored on their final two possessions of the second quarter, capped by a 25-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in the half.
Tech had a chance to answer after that but missed on a 53-yard field goal.
After two quarters of play, Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter has three catches for 51 yards on offense. On defense, he had an interception nullified by an offsides penalty in the second quarter.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders drove the Buffaloes to the Tech 8-yard line on their final drive of the first half but was hurried and threw an incomplete pass on third down, leading to the 25-yard field goal by Alejandro Mata.
The Buffs get the ball first after halftime.
Colorado cuts lead to 13-7
The Buffaloes finally scored on their fifth possession of the game, getting a 23-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to receiver LaJohntay Wester. Sanders found Wester for a short pass before Wester streaked down the left sideline to help cut Texas Tech’s lead to 13-7 with 7:33 left before halftime.
The Buffaloes had punted on their first four possessions but now have some momentum.
Shedeur Sanders is 8-of-13 passing for 89 yards.
End of first quarter: Texas Tech 13, Colorado 0
Tech has scored on three straight possessions to start the game while Colorado has punted on three possessions to start the game. After one quarter of play, the Red Raiders lead 13-0.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has completed just 3 of 7 passes for 27 yards.
“We just gotta calm down,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders told Fox television after the first quarter.
If this keeps up, it could be a huge opportunity lost for Colorado. Iowa State is losing against Kansas. If the Cyclones lose, the Buffaloes would control their own destiny in their quest to get into the Big 12 championship game. They entered the game tied with Iowa State for second place in the Big 12 with 4-1 records in league play.
Texas Tech is now up 13-0
The Red Raiders have scored on each of their first three drives of the game and are now up 13-0 in the first quarter after another field goal from Gino Garcia, this time from 39 yards.
By contrast, Colorado has started off sluggishly and has punted on its first two possessions of the game after taking last weekend off.
Tech quarterback Behren Morton is 6-for-9 passing for 115 yards and one touchdown to start the game.
Tech takes 10-0 lead
Texas Tech kicker Gino Garcia split the uprights with a 53-yard field goal, giving the Red Raiders a 10-0 lead with 7:04 left in the first quarter. Tech has scored on its first two drives of the game, while Colorado has had the ball only once and punted.
Tech quarterback Behren Morton has completed four of six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown so far.
Travis Hunter tucks away a tortilla
Colorado coach Deion Sanders had some questions earlier this week about Texas Tech’s tradition of throwing tortillas at games. In the first quarter, Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter found one on the field, picked it up and appeared to tuck it in his pants.Tech leads 7-0 in the first quarter.
Texas Tech leads 7-0
Texas Tech is fired up and has scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead with 13:50 left in the first quarter. The Red Raiders went 54 yards in four plays to score, capping the drive with a 17-yard touchdown catch from receiver Jalin Conyers. J’Koby Williams started things off with a 46-yard kickoff return to near midfield.
Colorado got the ball after that but punted after going only eight yards in six plays.
When is the Colorado-Texas Tech game?
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 9 from Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
How to watch Colorado-Texas Tech game
The game will be broadcast on Fox and also is available on Fubo.
Watch Colorado vs. Texas Tech on Fubo
Can Travis Hunter win the Heisman Trophy?
Another big game today by him on offense, defense or both would further propel his candidacy for the award. He currently is the odds-on favorite to win it, according to BetMGM, ahead of Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
Hunter missed the second halves of two games this season with a shoulder injury but an off week last week helped him heal. His attendance on two national pregame shows last week on Fox and ESPN also boosted his profile.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he even would vote for Hunter to the win the trophy over Sanders’ quarterback son Shedeur, who also is a Heisman candidate.
“Travis gets my vote,” Sanders said on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show Saturday in Lubbock.
Shilo Sanders court hearing
Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, son of coach Deion Sanders, had an important hearing in his bankruptcy case Thursday in Denver. He was not required to attend and did not as he prepared for Saturday’s game at Tech. His attorneys made arguments on his behalf as he tries get out of more than $11 million in debt related to an incident in 2015.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.