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BOULDER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 13: Joshua Karty, #43 of the Stanford Cardinal, celebrates with his teammates after kicking a field goal to defeat the Colorado Buffaloes in double overtime at Folsom Field. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
BOULDER, Colo. (CC) - If you slept on the late kickoff time for the game between the Colorado Buffaloes (4-3, 1-3) and the Stanford Cardinal (2-4, 1-3) on Friday night, then you snoozed on one of the most thrilling comebacks in college football history.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders had bemoaned the 8 p.m. local time kickoff as a ratings snooze, especially in media monstrosities like New York.
“Who makes these 8 o’clock games? Dumbest thing ever. Stupidest thing ever invented in life. Who wants to stay up until 8 o’clock for a darn game?” Sanders said on his weekly radio show.
“What about the East Coast — do they even care about ratings? Is anyone watching it? What are we supposed to do with the kids all day until 8 o’clock? What are we supposed to do in the hotel?”
Keep them up, not down, maybe.
Down 29-0 at the half, and left for the proverbial sporting dead, the Cardinal launched a massive revival and resurrection in the second half, to shock CU in double-overtime, 46-43, after a field goal by senior placekicker Joshua Karty.
It was the largest comeback in Stanford Cardinal football history - a program launched in 1891.
The electrifying rally against Colorado, tonight, may not or may eventually surpass "The Play," a last-second, game-winning kickoff return for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears on Saturday, November 20, 1982.
But it was a game, tonight, that those involved in and those watching, will likely remember for a long time.
Sophomore Cardinal receiver Elick Ayomanor was unstoppable after the half, had the time of his life, and danced to the tune of 13 receptions, 294 yards and 3 touchdowns.
He snagged his third touchdown, on Stanford's first play in overtime, by snatching a pass off the back of superstar two-way player Travis Hunter's helmet. The grab tied the game, 43-43, and forced a second overtime.
Cardinal Quarterback Ashton Daniels, also a sophomore, was 27 of 45, passed for 296 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game.
Spectacular FBS quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw three touchdowns in the first half, going 14 of 18 passing for 201 yards.
Senior receiver Xavier Weaver also scored three first half touchdowns, two receiving, including the game's first score.
Late in the first quarter, Sanders' former Jackson State University teammate, Hunter, showed why he is heralded as the most electrifying player in the country.
The sophomore scored on a dazzling 24-yard touchdown reception, displaying dampening moves, speed, quickness, and breaking a Stanford defender's proverbial ankle bones on the way to paydirt.
It was Hunter's first offensive touchdown of the season and his first in the FBS.
Tonight was his first game back after suffering a lacerated kidney in CU's third game this season. The two-way player finished the first half with five receptions, 80 yards and one touchdown.
A 39-yard floater from Sanders to Weaver, for his second touchdown reception of the night, plus the two-point conversion run by sophomore TE Caleb Fauria, made the score 22-0 with 8:42 left in the second period.
Weaver tallied a walk-in rushing touchdown on a 14-yard reverse, later in the half, to cap a 5-play, 66-yard drive, after the CU defense had again stymied Stanford's offense.
With 2:10 left in the half, the Cardinal punted for the third time in their first five possessions.
They came out like gangbusters in the second half, and scored three touchdowns in three possessions, cutting the lead to 10, including a 97-yard game-breaking touchdown pass from Daniels to Ayomanor with 6:18 left in the third quarter.
Hunter's personal foul extended the Stanford touchdown drive that cut the score to 29-26 with 12:28 left in the game.
But CU answered with a 16-yard Hunter touchdown reception from Sanders.
Alas, the Buffaloes could not stop a clicking offense, once the Cardinal got rolling, and got rolled in two overtimes.
Stanford's defense intercepted Sanders in the second overtime, then the offense turned it over to Karty to complete the historic comeback.
GAME PADS:
The Buffs started off the game in a different fashion than they have in the last two weeks. Instead of allowing their opponents to march down the field and score a touchdown on the opening possession, tonight they stopped Stanford to start the game, then scored on their first possession.
Stanford outscored the Buffaloes 46-14 in the second half.
Tonight was The largest blown lead in Colorado program history.
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