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By Aman Sharma
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The Colorado Buffaloes toppled the No. 14 Houston Cougars 42-32 on Nov. 13 at Folsom Field, giving head coach Deion Sanders the first top-15 victory of his Colorado tenure.
Colorado hadn’t beaten an opponent ranked that well since topping Oklahoma in 2007, and the result came with Sanders facing hot-seat talk after a 3-6 start.
Houston entered 7-2 with a faint College Football Playoff shot that now looks gone. The upset could become Sanders’ strongest case for staying beyond this season.
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Early on, the visitors scored on all four opening drives to build a 20-7 cushion before Colorado’s running game took over.
Running back Richard Young broke a 38-yard touchdown run, DeKalon Taylor added a 67-yard burst, and JaQuail Smith’s 32-yard score 15 seconds before halftime put Colorado up 21-20.
Quarterback Isaac Wilson threw an interception on the first series after halftime, handing Houston a short field. One snap later, Randon Fontenette sacked Conner Weigman and forced a fumble that Santana Hopper fell on.
Wilson atoned by hitting Joseph Williams for a 53-yard score. After he limped off, also during the third period, true freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne kept it himself on his opening play, scoring from 14 yards to make it 35-20.
Boo Carter later picked off Weigman, who had tossed only two others all year, and the Cougars were blanked over the full quarter.
Houston pulled within 35-26, then missed the two-point try, leaving the deficit at nine. Colorado’s reply was an 11-play, 75-yard march that ate 6:01, and Young’s 2-yard run at the 3:59 mark made it 42-26.
A late Houston touchdown and another failed conversion trimmed the gap to 10 before the Buffaloes secured the onside kick.
Colorado piled up 249 rushing yards with five touchdowns across 39 carries, its biggest rushing day since a Sept. 3, 2021, meeting with Northern Colorado. Young took 21 of those carries for 99 yards, scoring twice.
Wilson returned to finish 17-of-25 with 217 passing yards. Houston won the yardage battle 477-466, but two turnovers proved too expensive.
Fans who had poured onto the turf after beating unranked Kansas State weren’t staying seated this time.
Defensive lineman Dylan Manuel watched the finish in street clothes, with a boot protecting the left foot. Sitting at 4-6 with a 2-5 Big 12 mark, Colorado must win at Cincinnati on Nov. 21 and then beat UCF at Folsom Field to hit six wins.
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