Deion Sanders’ Buffs open Big 12 title game path with win

Early observations from Colorado’s 34-23 win over Cincinnati Bearcats in Big 12 play at Folsom Field.

1. Time to do the Big 12 title game math: With that Nebraska loss on the resume, CU likely has one path to the College Football Playoff: winning the Big 12 championship. And after a home win over Cincinnati late Saturday night, the road to Dallas is starting to become a little clearer in early December.

Despite a 4-1 league record, the Buffs need some help. Okay, probably a little help.

The only thing in their hands, of course, is winning – and of the four games on Deion Sanders’ docket, the only truly scary one, on paper, is a visit to Texas Tech, coming off a bye week, at 1 November. 9. After that, CU will likely be favored over the last three opportunities – home to slumping Utah (4-4) on Nov. 16; at Kansas (2-6) in Kansas City on Nov. 23; and home to Oklahoma State (3-5) on Black Friday.

That said, it’s busy at the top.

BYU (5-0 Big 12) needs to make at least one mistake — and its best two chances are road trips to Utah (Nov. 9) and Arizona State (Nov. 23).

Iowa State (4-0) also has two slightly less salty road games, taking on KU in Kansas City on Nov. 9 and Utah in Salt Lake on Nov. 23.

There’s also a chance Kansas State (4-1 Big 12) beats the Cyclones in Ames in the annual Farmegeddon showdown. But the Wildcats are favored in the three games the previous November: in Houston, against Arizona State and against Cincy.

2. Horn takes his own TD: Chances are you’ll see something at Folsom Field these days that you’ve never seen in a football game before — and the Buffs provided two of those moments on the game’s first drive. The first strange moment came on what appeared to be a lightning-fast 57-yard touchdown catch-and-run by wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. The Buffs senior had so much room to run that he made a “Peace” sign with two fingers. at the nearest Cincinnati defender at about the 25-yard line on the way to the end zone. The officials were not amused and signaled CU wide for unsportsmanlike conduct at the spot of the foul, wiping the TD off the board. Instead, the hosts got a first down at the Bearcat 25-yard line. It only delayed the inevitable, as the Buff scored five plays later, on a three-yard touchdown toss to Travis Hunter… who then celebrated with an Ozzie-Smith-style backflip into the end zone.