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Shedeur Sanders led Colorado on a late drive to set up a game-winning field goal in the final minute as the Buffaloes improved to 4-2 on the season with a 27-24 win at Arizona State. The victory came in the face of a 17-14 halftime deficit as the Sun Devils turned in a headline-worthy performance against this high-profile Colorado squad. Ultimately, it was the late-game execution from Sanders and the Buffs defense that helped keep this team on a path to bowl eligibility as Deion Sanders earned his first conference victory.
Arizona State was getting almost anything it wanted in the first half only to run up against a Colorado defense that had made the proper adjustments coming out of the locker room. The Sun Devils enjoyed a late scoring flurry in the second quarter, but went scoreless for almost the entire second half, only marching down the field for a game-tying touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. However, that effort was immediately offset by Sanders moving Colorado into field goal range in just 38 seconds to set up a crucial win for this program.
For Colorado, this was a games that Deion Sanders and his team absolutely had to win. The 3-0 start built up promise for what Coach Prime could do in Boulder, but the back-to-back losses to Oregon and USC were a reminder of the work left to do in order to compete with the best teams in college football. Facing an Arizona State team that is in the midst of its own transition, Colorado had a chance to reverse the recent streak of setbacks and move one step closer to bowl eligibility. The Sun Devils, in Year 1 under coach Kenny Dillingham, had given USC issues earlier this season and was not far from tasting victory on Saturday, but the personnel issues have been exacerbated by injuries. Arizona State continues to deal with weaknesses that are difficult to overcome even with impressive effort.
Why it was so important for Colorado to pick up the road win? That has to do with how it sets up ths team for the final stretch of the season. The Buffs have home games against Stanford and Arizona left on the schedule, representing good opportunities to hit six wins needed for bowl eligibility. One misstep, however, and it's going to be much tougher considering the rest of the slate has UCLA, Oregon State, Washington State and Utah -- all teams that are projected to be in the AP Top 25 on Sunday after Week 6.
Losing to Arizona State would have made the proposition of a bowl appearance even less likely, so in taking care of business, the Buffs have stayed on course for exceeding the expectations of what could be accomplished in Year 1 of the Coach Prime area.
