The Houston Cougars had everything in front of them.
Situated at No. 14, they were positioned with their highest ranking in program history from the College Football Playoff committee. No ranked opponents remained on the schedule. The pathway to a playoff berth was simple: win out, and rely on three teams in the top 13 to lose.
Houston traveled to Colorado for a late Friday night kickoff, labeled as considerable favorites over a Buffaloes team that had lost six of seven, winning just one overtime game
against Kansas State over that timeframe.
Colorado hadn’t scored more than 27 points against an FBS team all season, or more than 24 in regulation. Its offense ranked 124th in scoring, averaging just 15.8 points per game against FBS opponents. Meanwhile, Houston hadn’t surrendered more than 32 points all season. But all bets were off at Folsom Field on a chilly November night. Behind an unforeseen offensive explosion, the Buffaloes gashed the Cougars, 42-32, abruptly ending the playoff aspirations of the No. 14 team in the country.
It was Colorado’s first double-digit victory of the season and Houston’s first double-digit defeat, in a night full of firsts for both programs.
In the first half, it appeared as if the Cougars would cruise to a seamless victory. Houston continued its streak of constructing a double-digit lead in every game this season, constructing a 20-7 advantage over the Buffaloes. The Cougars scored on each of their first four possessions and forced two early Colorado punts, as both sides of the ball shined under the lights in Boulder.
The final two minutes of the first half featured a seismic momentum shift. It started with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter when DeKaylon Taylor broke free for a 67-yard touchdown scamper. Then with 15 seconds left in the half, JaQuail Smith put the Buffaloes ahead 21-20 on a breakaway 32-yard run.
Houston trailed at halftime for just the second time all season, but the Cougars opened the third quarter with a momentum-swinging play, as Colorado quarterback Isaac Wilson’s first pass ricocheted off the helmet of Myles Parker and was intercepted by a diving Javion White. However, Houston couldn’t even gain an iota of momentum. Randon Fontenette flew in on a safety blitz, blindsiding an unsuspecting Conner Weigman to force a fumble, and it was recovered by Colorado defensive tackle Santana Hopper.
Three plays later, the Buffaloes were in the end zone with a 28-20 lead on a 53-yard touchdown connection from Wilson to Joseph Williams. Colorado already surpassed its season-high in points against an FBS opponent less than two minutes into the third quarter, and it hadn’t even taken a red zone snap. Each of its first four touchdowns came from over 30 yards out.
The Colorado avalanche only continued on both sides of the ball. Backup quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne checked in for one play after a brief injury to Wilson (who later returned) and scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown, extending the underdog’s advantage to 35-20. Meanwhile, Houston couldn’t craft a response, finishing six consecutive possessions without a point. In the third quarter, the Cougars were burdened by a fourth down failure and its third interception of the season, sharply increasing the level of desperation for the fourth quarter.
While Houston trimmed the deficit twice in the final frame, the Cougars never crawled within one score, missing both two-point attempts after fourth quarter touchdowns. Sandwiched in between Weigman’s two touchdown strikes was a pivotal 11-play, 75-yard Colorado drive that exhausted over six minutes and resulted in seven points.
When the clock struck zero, a sea of over 47,000 fans stormed Folsom Field, marking Colorado’s second consecutive home game resulting in a field storm. For Houston, it was on the wrong side of a field storm for the first time since a 2022 non-conference matchup at Texas Tech.
Colorado (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) recorded its first AP Top 15 victory since 2007, when it knocked off Oklahoma on a clock-expiring field goal. It was the program’s third ranked win under fourth-year head coach Deion Sanders who defeated No. 17 TCU in his 2023 debut and No. 22 Iowa State last season. By pulling off a signature upset, the Buffaloes kept their bowl eligibility hopes intact, needing to defeat Cincinnati and UCF to secure their second postseason berth in the last six years.
Houston (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) watched its playoff hopes dissolve against the team that sported the worst overall record in the conference entering Week 11. The Cougars were the only FBS team to finish 6-0 on the road last season, but this season, they are 2-3 and 0-3 when traveling west. Houston remains on the road next week at West Virginia before concluding its regular season against Baylor, hoping to finish strong after missing a golden opportunity for a playoff push in Boulder.
