Shedeur Sanders cements himself as top QB in 2025 NFL Draft with a commanding performance against Utah
It was yet another elite performance on the season for Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes offense as he showed the ability once again to direct and dominate at every level of the quarterback position. This has been a theme all season long for Sanders, who continues to show why he is one of the best prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Shedeur Sanders making this throw in Silver and Black is the best thing you’ll see all day. That’s a Tom Brady throw right their 👀 pic.twitter.com/LZRIAmiKA5
Sanders was near perfect on Saturday against the Utah Utes in what was ultimately a complete blowout. Sanders posted 30 completions on 41 attempts, 340 yards, and 3 passing touchdowns in a surgical-like performance for the young star. While Sanders did have an interception at the start of the game from a tipped ball, he was darn near flawless after that point, leading his team to a dominant win, which puts the Buffaloes closer to the playoffs.
Throughout the year, Sanders has shown all the makings of an NFL-caliber signal caller. With an elite football IQ, top-level accuracy, solid arm strength, and a continuing progression in his mastery of the position, Sanders is clearly the top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft at this point.
There’s a clear reason why Travis Hunter is the Heisman Trophy favorite in Week 12.
Selecting the most outstanding college football player each season isn’t always easy, and there isn’t always a clear-cut favorite.
The 2024 Heisman Trophy race has been fascinating to watch all season with preseason favorite Dillon Gabriel, Ashton Jeanty and Cam Ward making some truly standout plays and quintessential Heisman moments on the field.
But, as talented as they are, no one really compares with two-way player Travis Hunter, who entered Week 12 as the consensus Heisman favorite. And Saturday in Colorado’s 49-24 win over Utah, the Buffaloes wide receiver/defensive back reminded everyone why.
Against Utah, Hunter finished with 60 total offensive yards, which is actually a bit low for him. He earned his first rushing touchdown of the season, and on defense, he returned an interception for 21 yards and added three solo tackles and a pass breakup. On the season, he has 10 total touchdowns, 911 receiving yards, three interceptions, eight passes defended and one forced fumble, as Fox Sports noted.
Hunter’s talent and skills are undeniable. Not only does he play almost every snap on both sides of the ball when he’s healthy, but he also often makes standout play after standout play, like this one:
With less than a month to go before Heisman voters make their selections, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs have been stumping hard for Hunter’s Heisman campaign. They’re right to support their player, of course, but they’re also right about no college player in the country being comparable to Hunter, a coveted future NFL Draft pick.
Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders praised Hunter after the game, calling him the best player in the country:
“He’s the best player in the country, hands down, no doubt. There’s not a lot of guys that can do what he do on offense and defense, so it’s really tough to compare him to anybody else because I feel like if he was at a different program — they don’t like us so much. They hate on us too. So it’s real hard, and it makes me sad that they don’t give a guy like him his credit because that’s generational. It ain’t gonna happen again for a long time.”
After the Buffs’ win against Utah, Deion was asked what his message to undecided Heisman voters would be. He echoed his quarterback son’s sentiments but implied he’s done stumping and said:
“I ain’t gonna sit up here and give no message to no Heisman voters who is undecided. If they can’t see, they can’t see. It is what it is. Travis is who he is. It’s supposed to go to the best college football player; I think that’s been a wrap since, what? Week 2?
“So, we ain’t petitioning for nobody. We ain’t doing that. We’ve got a wonderful display of cameras here, and I think we’re on national television every week. If they can’t see it, something is a problem. Don’t allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids’ success. … Give the kids what they deserve.”
"Don't allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids' success… Get the kids what they deserve, man."
Deion Sanders when asked what his message would be to Heisman voters who were undecided about Travis Hunter ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/y2P1tX8bHT
Sanders may claim he’s not arguing for Hunter’s Heisman campaign, but he’s still making an argument that the two-way player is the best in college football this season. And he’s right, but at this point, the Sanders family and the rest of Colorado shouldn’t have to be convincing anyone of Hunter’s exceptionalism.
For Oregon, Gabriel makes his dominance look easy. With Miami, Ward is so poised making big plays it’s almost worrisome. And Boise State has the best running back in the country with Jeanty.
But Hunter is an extraordinary two-way player who’s on the field for the majority of games and is having an incredible season. Barring a catastrophic game for him or a couple truly elevated performances from his fellow contenders, the Heisman should be his come December.
Indiana still can’t get much respect from the playoff committee
The second College Football Playoff rankings dropped on Tuesday night with Oregon retaining its status as the No. 1 team in the country ahead of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Texas.
Yet the playoff picture suddenly feels a lot less clear than it did a week ago following Week 11 losses from Miami (Fla.) and Georgia.
Let’s walk through some of the biggest winners and losers from the second rankings.
A reminder: the top four power conference winners and the highest-ranked Group of 5 teams are all guaranteed a spot. The final seven seeds are essentially decided by the committee.
Winner: Colorado
(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
A week after the committee seemingly told the Big 12 it was only getting one team in the playoff, here comes the Buffaloes to challenge the narrative. Up three spots to No. 17 in this week’s rankings, Colorado controls its own destiny with remaining games against Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. None of those are cakewalks, but the Buffs will be favored in each matchup.
If both Colorado and BYU are undefeated heading into the Big 12 championship game, would the committee favor a one-loss conference runner-up over a two-loss SEC or Big Ten team?
Let’s hope we find get to out.
Loser: Indiana
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
If you thought the disrespect for Indiana was bad last week when the committee ranked the Hoosiers No. 9, what can you say about what the committee did this week to the 10-0 Hoosiers? The committee moved IU up to No. 5 in the rankings, but that means they’d be facing No. 10 Alabama in the first round of the playoff.
Will that end up happening? Probably not, but that’s a rough draw even in theory. Especially when you see a pair of one-loss teams in Penn State and Ohio State are ranked ahead of Indiana.
No. 2 Ohio State would currently draw a home game against No. 12 Boise State. Thankfully the Buckeyes and Hoosiers will meet on November 23 to settle this once and for all.
Winner: Mizzou
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz was mocked a bit for talking about the Tigers keeping their playoff chances alive, but uh, he wasn’t exactly wrong. Clocking in at No. 23, Mizzou technically has a chance to get into the field of 12.
That in itself is worth celebrating after nearly blowing its season at home against a dilapidated Oklahoma team. Anyone who moves up in the rankings after a game like that deserves a pat on the back.
Loser: Georgia
(Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
If a two-loss SEC team is getting left out, it sure seems like No. 12 Georgia is the best candidate.
Despite the fact the Bulldogs still have to play Tennessee and Georgia Tech, even winning out might not be enough to keep them in the playoff considering they’re on the outside now. The Group of Five requirement is keeping No. 13 Boise State in the playoff and the Bulldogs the first team out.
The Bulldogs need three dominant wins just to have chance at pleading its case to the committee at the end of the season.
Winner: Ole Miss
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
A week ago the Rebels were just hanging on the playoff picture. Now Lane Kiffin’s program is up to No. 11 and has arguably the best path through the bracket.
As it stands, Ole Miss would travel to No. 6 Penn State in the first round, where the toughest aspect may be the home field advantage. The Rebels have the No. 2 offense in the country while Penn State ranks No. 22. The winner of that game would face No. 3 BYU — and a Cougars offense that ranks No. 56 in the FBS — on neural ground.
If you’re Ole Miss, you take your chances with an offense like the Rebels’ and a matchup like those.
Deion Sanders and Colorado were looking at a 13-0 deficit in the first quarter on Saturday against Texas Tech in Lubbock.
The Buffaloes rallied and posted a 41-27 victory over the Red Raiders. It marks the first time since 1996 Colorado has won four games in a row on the road.
The game was in doubt until the final minute when Tech’;s Behren Morton was hit and fumbled in the end zone.
The football was recovered by Shilo Sanders for the touchdown that iced the comeback and the game.
Shilo Sanders’ brother, Shedeur, the quarterback, was 30-of-43 for 291 yards and three touchdown passes.
The great two-way player Travis Hunter had nine catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.
But where could he end up in the 2025 NFL Draft? And will he play both cornerback and wide receiver in the league? Our latest mock from our Christian D’Andrea had him going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, an intriguing pairing with Brian Thomas Jr. And in a Bleacher Report mock, he’s the No. 1 pick where the site writes he “could primarily be a cornerback, although he should also contribute as part of certain offensive packages.”
Over at CBS, he’s also No. 1 to the Patriots, where Chris Trapasso they “could use a receiver jolt to pair with Drake Maye.”
There’s no player in college football quite like Colorado’s Travis Hunter. The wide receiver and cornerback is supremely talented, takes a ton of snaps (when he’s healthy) and regularly wows college football fans.
Saturday in Colorado’s home game against Cincinnati was no different, but this time the stunned reactions were more about his celebration than his touchdown catch.
The Buffaloes got on the board first with quarterback Shedeur Sanders connecting with Hunter for a three-yard touchdown pass on second-and-goal early in the first quarter. After the score, Hunter made sure there was no one behind him before doing a backflip and landing like Spider-Man, mimicking a shooting web out of his wrist and everything.
The latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports have the Duke Blue Devils playing Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.
The Duke Blue Devils already have six wins in 2024, so the only question about the upcoming bowl schedule is where they will go and who they will play. And the latest projections from USA TODAY Sports have quite the matchup for head coach Manny Diaz.
According to Erick Smith on Tuesday, the Blue Devils drew the Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in the Holiday Bowl, which is scheduled for December 27 in San Diego, California.
Sanders, in his second season at the helm of the Colorado program, has the Buffaloes rolling. They’ve won five of their first seven games, including a dramatic overtime victory over Baylor that included a game-tying Hail Mary on the final play of regulation. Two-way star Travis Hunter is a Heisman contender with 51 receptions for 604 yards and six touchdowns as a wideout and two interceptions and a forced fumble on defense, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders is fifth among FBS quarterbacks in both passing yards (2,268) and passing touchdowns (19).
The Blue Devils would provide a worthy challenge for Sanders and the Colorado passing attack. Duke is surrendering 4.9 yards per attempt through the air, one of four defenses in the country averaging fewer than five yards per throw.
Smith also had the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers making the College Football Playoff from the ACC, but he actually thinks that Dabo Swinney and the Tigers win the conference and earn the first-round bye despite Miami being the undefeated team right now.
Former President Barack Obama said Colorado only had two good players before the Arizona game, and Buffs coach Deion Sanders called him out after his team thrashed the Wildcats.
If we know anything about Deion Sanders, it’s the Colorado coach keeps receipts. Whether local (or national) reporters, fans, broadcasters or other naysayers, coach Prime knows what was said, and he has no problem letting you know about it.
Even the former president of the United States isn’t off limits.
After Colorado’s 34-7 thrashing of the Arizona Wildcats on the road in Week 8, Sanders took to the podium to call out Barack Obama for a comment he made recently describing the Buffs as a team that only has two good players.
“President Obama is everything to me. I love him, I admire him, I respect him tremendously,” Sanders opened with, before continuing. “But, I heard what he said. President, I heard what you said man. … They got two good players? We got more than two good players. He did his homework, but president … come on man.”
Prime smiled through his comments, which is much easier to do after his team scored on the first drive of the game and never let up. Colorado’s defense held the Wildcats to a first-quarter touchdown and coasted to an easy victory to move to 5-2 (3-1 Big 12).
The Buffs host Cincinnati at home in Week 9, part of a favorable remaining schedule that includes road games at Texas Tech and Kansas and home battles against Utah and Oklahoma State.
That includes President Barack Obama, who took a little jab at the Buffs while campaigning in Tucson ahead of the Colorado-Arizona game Saturday at Arizona Stadium.
“I know Colorado’s got a couple good players, but I also know you guys have beaten them twice in a row,” Obama said, playing to the Arizona crowd. “So, don’t bet against the Wildcats tomorrow.”
Well, after Colorado crushed Arizona, 34-7, on Saturday, Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders responded to Obama’s remarks about “a couple of good players.”
“Let me go out and underscore this too: President Obama is everything to me. I love him, I admire him, I respect him tremendously. But. I heard what he said. President, I heard what you said, man. Like, come on, come on. That’s why I really don’t get into politics. I’m into people because politicians are — they play the political game, and he was here and had to play the political game.”
“So they have two good players? We have more than two good players. But you’re here, so you had to support that. And what’d he say? They won the last three meetings, two meetings? Something like that. He did his homework. Somebody gave him some great statistics. But President, come on, man. You my man. I love you. I appreciate you. But come on, dog.”
Clearly, no love lost between Obama and Sanders, who had a good laugh about it all.
Colorado is now 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in the Big 12. It’s lone loss so far is to Nebraska.
