Two seconds left on the clock. The Buffaloes trailed 24-31. A Hail Mary pass from Shedeur Sanders. An incredible 43-yard touchdown catch by LaJohntay Wester. An extra-point kick later, Colorado forced the Baylor Bears into overtime. Then, it just came down to bringing it home. And with another rush to the endzone, Deion Sanders’ team started yet another season with a 3-1 record. But unlike last year, this season just feels different. And that was evident when almost every Buffs fan inside Folsom Field stormed onto the gridiron.

The 38-31 win came after the Colorado Buffaloes were, at one point, trailing by 14 points. In what was a comeback for the ages, Coach Prime’s two stars came in clutch when needed. While Shedeur Sanders’ 43-yard pass at the end of regulation time ensured overtime, a forced fumble from Travis Hunter ensured victory. Despite the Bears having a clear run to the endzone, with only Hunter standing in the way, it was like Buffs fans knew they’d already won.

No sooner than the two-way star forced the fumble, the home crowd stormed onto the field. Even before the final whistle was blown. And once the referees confirmed the fumble, it was pandemonium. As the Bears reeled from the “heart-wrenching loss” – as their head coach, Dave Aranda, put it – the Buffaloes and their fans couldn’t contain themselves. And as much as Deion Sanders was enjoying the celebrations, he knew the commotion wasn’t particularly safe for his players.

As Coach Prime navigated through Folsom Field, flanked by his bodyguards, he spotted Shedeur. Acting on instinct, he asked one of his security personnel to get his quarterback out of the crowd. When Shedeur emerged, he looked absolutely exhausted but equally elated as he collapsed in his father’s arms. They hugged, and Shedeur seemed to have shed a few tears, too. Especially after a game where adrenaline and emotions would’ve been high.

Interesting fact: In 2023, the Pac-12 fined Colorado University $10,000 when fans rushed the field following a game. While rushing the field is not uncommon in football, it’s against the Pac-12’s regulations. Interestingly, this was CU’s third fine for the same. In the 2016-17 season, fans rushed the field twice – CU received a $25,000 fine followed by a $50,000 fine. As for the incident from last Saturday, now that CU is in the Big 12, they haven’t gotten any intimation about a fine yet. However, a spokesperson said the potential penalty could be up to $25,000.

With the intensity of the situation, Deion Sanders, who always keeps an eye on every player, knew he had to step in and ensure his son’s safety. When things settled down and the Buffs headed back inside, Coach Prime said in the press conference, “I want to apologize to the opposition, the way we stormed the field. I don’t like what transpired at the end of the game, but I love what transpired at the end of the game. We have a fan base that’s phenomenal.” 

Fox31 reached out to the university following the game, asking about the incident. This was the reply they got: “Security’s job was to simply get them off the field safely and as quickly as possible.” 

Because the home crowd ran onto the field even before the official reviews for the fumble, Sanders couldn’t shake hands with the Bears’ staff. However, he did make it a point to visit their locker room to acknowledge them, as seen in a video on Uncle Neely’s Thee Pregame Show Network. All said and done, though, the post-game scenes were a little scary for both teams. As for Shedeur, while he loved that he played a major part in this victory, the experience wasn’t entirely pleasant for him.

So much so that he had to hold a meeting with a few fans after the game.

Shedeur Sanders’ take on the chaotic fan incident last week

In a conversation with wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr on Sunday, Sanders expressed mixed feelings regarding the whole situation. “I did a little meet-up with everybody. I said, ‘Hey, bro. When you all rush to the field, you know that stuff hurts, right? You all be drunk and [saying], “Let go! Let’s go!” and hitting me,'” revealed the quarterback.

“You know I just got hit out there, so it doesn’t feel good,” he added. Unlike the Buffaloes’ win against Colorado State last week, where they gave up just 1 quarterback sack, the team gave up 8 sacks in the Week 4 game. So, it makes sense why Shedeur Sanders didn’t particularly enjoy being pushed around in the crowd. In fact, he even said, “I almost felt somebody reaching for my chain, and I said, ‘Hold on, bro.’”

“I turn around. I look back. I don’t see anybody. Everybody’s smiling. As soon as I turn around, they [were] trying to snatch my chain.” Speaking of his chain, the old faithful made an appearance in the Buffs’ post-game locker room celebrations. As Shedeur’s song, Perfect Timing, erupted through the speakers, the team sang along, and the quarterback – in his signature move – held up his chain and showed it off. After all, he had every reason to be proud of his performance.

Yes, he may have called the victory a “relief” and said, “I can’t have a game like that again,” but his 25 of 41 pass completions for 341 yards and 2 touchdowns suggest he had a pretty good outing.  That said, the Colorado Buffaloes are on the right path with two back-to-back victories. They are all set to face UCF on Saturday. There are some things for Deion Sanders to fix, namely, the O-line and the special teams’ play. Let’s see who prevails in the Week 5 game!