FORT WORTH, Texas — Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes beat TCU in a 45-42 thriller at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Saturday, giving Sanders a win in his first game coaching at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
Colorado (1-0) held TCU (0-1) on a 4th down and 9 with just under one minute left, and then ran out the clock to shock the Horned Frogs, who were coming off their best season in program history.
Sanders' son, Shedeur Sanders, starred at quarterback for Colorado, throwing for 510 yards on 38-of-47 passing and four touchdowns.
"I'm proud of him," Deion Sanders said of his son's performance, "tremendously."
Travis Hunter, a two-way player for Colorado, starred at receiver and defensive back, intercepting a key pass on the goal line and also catching 11 passes for 119 yards.
"Travis is 'him' like the young folks say," Sanders said.
TCU will play against Nichols State next weekend, and Colorado will take on Nebraska.
TCU quarterback Chandler Morris threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but two crucial interceptions stalled the Frogs' momentum. In the first quarter, Morris' pass across the middle of the endzone got picked off, keeping Colorado's 7-0 lead intact.
And in the third quarter, as TCU was looking to take the lead on the Colorado four-yard-line, Morris' pass to the flat was intercepted by Hunter, as Colorado led 24-21.
Even aside from the interceptions, Saturday's game was chock full of big plays.
Colorado opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown pass. TCU responded with a touchdown and a stop, but then Hunter had the pick near the goal line.
"I thought it was terrible," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said of his defense. "I thought it was a really bad performance."
Dykes also pointed to the two interceptions and a missed field goal in the first half, calling the Frogs' mistakes a "perfect storm" of how to lose a football game.
Sanders after the game called out his critics who doubted he would have immediate success at Colorado, especially after turning over nearly the entire roster in the offseason. Sanders, who has never shied from trash talk, had a point: One ESPN analyst before the game had suggested Colorado might have the worst roster in the country.
On Saturday, they proved that was far from the case.
"I got receipts, I know who they are," Sanders said of his critics. "I tried to tell you [about Travis Hunter] but you didn't want to believe me, because I'm just a lofty old young coach. I don't know nothing about football. I just played in the NFL for 14. Played at a high level in college for four. And been coaching youth all the way up for a long time. How do you think we got Dylan Edwards? I coached him when he was 4-7 years old. That's why we got Dylan Edwards."
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