This story was updated to add a photo.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Travis Hunter wore custom-made football cleats in Saturday night’s game against Central Florida – a pair of gold-colored shoes with a graphic on them depicting the mountains and trees of Boulder, Colorado.
They had quite a night. First he scored a 23-yard touchdown in them in the first quarter. Then he made an interception and flashed the Heisman Trophy pose in them in the third quarter. After his Colorado team won the game, 48-21, Colorado’s two-way superstar even took those cleats off his feet and gave them to somebody in the stands here at FBC Mortgage Stadium.
“That’s who he is, man,” Colorado football coach Deion Sanders said of Hunter’s big night.
By the time it was over, Hunter had caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, snagged one interception, broke up one other opposing pass attempt and recorded two tackles before walking back to the locker room in his socks.
But this time was different.
Why was this win different for Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders?
Hunter’s team also rose to the occasion around him to play what might be its best all-around game in Sanders’ two seasons as head coach.
It also came on a homecoming of sorts for both Sanders and Hunter, both Florida natives coming home to lead the Buffaloes (4-1) to their third straight win.
“I can’t even tell you how emotional I am about these young men and seeing what they could do when they put it all together and seeing what we’re capable of when we put it all together,” Sanders said afterward.
The win effectively puts the Big 12 Conference on notice. The Buffs are hot, on the move and might even come close to cracking the national Top 25. The Buffs led 27-14 at halftime and held the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense to 177 rushing yards, nearly 200 under UCF’s season average before Saturday.
Here’s how they did it Saturday and what it means:
What did Deion Sanders say about win?
He was in a playful mood after a warm, humid game that started about 50 minutes late because of lightning in the area. He poked fun of Hunter, who is known to wear onesie pajamas and doesn’t always like talking to the news media after games.
“Knowing Travis, he ain’t coming,” Sanders said at the postgame news conference. “He’s probably on the bus with a onesie on.”
Sanders also poked fun of his quarterback son Shedeur, who threw an interception on the game’s opening drive before leading the Buffs on scoring drives in six of their next seven possessions in front of an announced sellout crowd of 45,702 at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Shedeur Sanders completed 28 of 35 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He added three carries for 28 yards and was only sacked twice despite the loss of a starting guard to injury this week.
“C’mon Grown, they want to ask you about the interception,” Deion Sanders said to his son as the quarterback entered the post-game news conference.
That’s what Sanders calls Shedeur: “Grown” – as in mature beyond his years.
Shedeur Sanders showed it by settling down after the initial turnover and letting his running game take some pressure off of him for a change. The Buffs compiled 128 rushing yards on 29 carries, led by 39 from running back Isaiah Augustave, a native of Naples, Florida.
“We got outcoached,” UCF head coach Gus Malzahn said. “We got outplayed.”
UCF gave up two interceptions and two fumbles to Colorado, including one that was returned 95 yards by safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig for the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.
What did Shedeur Sanders say afterward?
He was asked how he stays focused amid the hype and all the football legends that come to see him and his father at games. On Saturday, Cam Newton, the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, greeted him before the game. Hall of Fame receivers Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens watched him from the Colorado sideline, too.
So how does he do it? Shedeur Sanders answered by saying he collects personal slights, either real or imagined. He said he remembers being described as “just an HBCU kid who couldn’t do it at the Power 5 level,” referring to Jackson State, a historically Black college where he played in 2022 before transferring to Colorado last year.
“I don’t forget anything,” Sanders said. “I don’t forget what anybody ever said, and personally I’m not one to make friends or feel like just because success is going on, now I’m going to forgive everybody. Nah, whatever you said at any point in time, I’m not really a forgiving type.”
That kind of mindset drove him to dominate a team Saturday that was favored by two touchdowns. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers and knocked the Knights (3-1) out of their comfort zone by forcing them to pass the ball more to keep up.
“To keep up with our type of scoring, that gets them out of their comfort zone and provokes them to throw the ball a little more than they’d like to,” Deion Sanders said.
His team now gets some rest heading into a bye weekend in Boulder. The Buffs resume play at home on Oct. 12 against Kansas State.
Deion Sanders talks about his record
Sanders pulled a trick on the news media afterward to make a point. With four wins, his team now has matched its win total from last year, when the Buffs finished 4-8 in his first season in Boulder.
“I’m so darn proud of where we are,” Sanders said. “We could be in a whole different place right now, but look it… We’re going into the break. What’s the record?”
“Four-and-one,” the news media responded.
“Say it again,” Sanders said, acting like he couldn’t hear.
“Four-and-one,” the room said again.
“I just wanted to hear y’all say it collectively, and y’all fell for it,” Sanders said with a laugh.
“We’re 4-1 going into the break, and I’m so excited, you have no idea,” Sanders said. “It’s gonna be a really good plane ride tonight.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
