Colorado desperately needed its 27-24 win over Arizona State Saturday for two reasons. First, the most obvious reason being that the Buffaloes needed any notch in the Pac-12 win column they could get.
Secondly, Colorado needed to gets its swagger from September back — the effortless cool it demonstrated in beating TCU, Nebraska and Colorado State. The Buffaloes did that against the Sun Devils, and maybe a little bit more.
With 14:32 left in the fourth quarter, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders zipped a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Javon Antonio to propel the Buffaloes to a 20-17 lead.
Sanders ran down to the end zone after the score and jawed with a pair of Arizona State players — first defensive back Demetries Ford, then defensive back Shamari Simmons. Somehow, Sanders wound up with one of the Sun Devils' mouthpieces, which he appeared to hurl into the stands.
It's personal for Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/3PBHQhkXpC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 8, 2023
The sequence drew a flag, but kicker Alejandro Mata nailed the extra point to extend the lead to 21-17.
After a week of questions following Colorado's loss to then-No. 8 USC on Sept. 30, Sanders bounced back with 239 yards through the air, a touchdown, and no interceptions — apparently at the expense of Arizona State's equipment team.
