BOULDER — You could accuse Coach Prime of running CU football the way your fraternity brother runs his dynasty Mode on EA Sports’ College Football 25. But when you’ve got the guy who’s on the cover of the video game, can you blame him? Travis Hunter 38, Baylor 31. Feed 12. Trust 12. Find 12. The Bears couldn’t. Travis Hunter 38, Baylor 31. Hunter’s game-ending forced fumble gave CU a victory in its first Big 12 game in 14 years. And sent a homecoming crowd streaming onto Folsom Field before the inevitable was confirmed. “The game is not over!” the public address announcer cried. “The play is under review!” “Stop jumping on the field, please!” They didn’t. And the party was just getting started. Baylor gave an inch. CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders took a mile high. Travis Hunter 38, Baylor 31. Hunter (seven catches, 130 yards) begged, nay, yelled, for the Buffs to get him the ball. Sanders obliged. The Bears had about three chances to put CU away for good. Baylor returned a Mark Vassett punt the hosts’ 26-yard line, up 31-24, with 4 minutes left. The CU defense held, and the football gods smiled on Coach Prime. On a wet field with a wet ball, Bears kicker Isaiah Hankins fired a 46-yard field goal attempt with 2:19 left that would’ve put the Hunter and Shedeur Magic Show in a 10-point hole. Wide right. After two underwhelming — to put it kindly — offensive drives prior to this that managed a combined 27 yards on 13 plays, the Buffs got back to work. Shedeur Sanders recovered a potential sack-fumble on first down at his own 45 with 1:48 left. Then he ran 17 yards on second-and-24 from his own 31. On third-and-10 from the Baylor 43, the son of the coach rolled left and threw a prayer to Wester, who cradled the ball in the end zone. Who leaves La’Johntay Wester in 1-on-1 coverage on a Hail Mary? Where would the Buffs be without Hunter, who just about single-handedly dragged CU back in the second half? Offensive line? Coach Deion Sanders shuffled his starting five in-game to try and find a combo that wouldn’t leaving his son running for his life. Special teams? The Buffs allowed a 54-yard punt return in the first quarter. And a 100-yard kick return for a score in the second. Defense? The CU D turned Baylor away on the first two possessions of the second half and hung in throughout. Once Baylor coach Dave Aranda got the Buffs on their heels in the first thalf, he didn’t back off. On fourth-and-2 at the CU 45 with 4:19 to go until halftime, the Bears, up 17-10, threw caution to the wind and let nimble QB Sawyer Robertson keep it. He found a hole off left guard and turned upfield for the first down, which was bad enough. Suddenly, all the ghosts of the 2023 CU defense, your least welcome homecoming guests, returned on one play. One Buffs safety, Carter Stoutmire, charged in but in one dive somehow managed to knock both himself and another safety, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, out of the play entirely. Inside linebacker Nakhai Hill-Green flailed as Robertson zipped past but couldn’t win the the foot race, and a short gainer turned into a crowd-stunning, 45-yard touchdown run. And a 23-10 Baylor lead. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders did Houdini tricks all night long. On second-and-11 from his own 21 with 1:54 left in the second quarter, No. 2 escaped a sure sack on the right hash, spun into daylight, cut back left, diagnoled to the left boundary and somehow turned a sure 8-yard loss into a 14-yard run. The Buffs signal-caller pulled out the Harry Porter wand again three players later. On a third-and-3 at the CU 42, the younger Sanders spun out of an reach-in arm tackle by Baylor linebacker Steve Linton, backpedaled to the right hash to create space, then set himself and fired a laser to wideout Omarion Miller, who secured the rock at the Baylor 35. Eight out of 10 times, the play would’ve ended there. But Miller’s knees and shins didn’t appear to touch the ground on Bears defender Corey Gordon Jr.’s tackle, so the Buffs wideout kept his legs moving, got up and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone to pull the hosts to within a score. A replay review upheld Miller’s decision to keep the play alive. Related Articles Sports Columnists | Keeler: Best news for Deion Sanders’ CU Buffs? Big 12 looks wacky, weird, wide open. “Everyone has a chance.” Sports Columnists | Grading The Week: What’s wrong with Nuggets’ new Nike alternate jerseys? We’ll give you 5,280 things Sports Columnists | CU Buffs vs. Baylor football: How to watch, storylines and staff predictions Sports Columnists | Keeler: CSU Rams are gone, Air Force may be next. But Wyoming Cowboys should stand with Mountain West, ex commissioner says Sports Columnists | Keeler: CSU players, including QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, need to stop writing checks Rams football can’t cash The Buffs started Saturday as they started a convincing win in the Rocky Mountain Showdown — running the ball off the left side. Freshman tailback Micah Welch took a handoff and exploded out of the box for a 12-yard run on CU’s opening play. Welch’s next two attempts were stoned, however, as a first-down run went for 2 yards and a third-and-5 carry was stuffed for a 3-yard loss to force a punt. The hosts’ next 16 carries netted 42 yards, or just 2.6 per carry. CU let Shedeur Sanders control the narrative from there, and it got the Buffs on the board quickly. On the hosts’ third drive, Baylor cornerback Lorando Johnson got caught in the end zone trying to hug Hunter on a third-and-4 throw from the Baylor 11. As the defender never really turned his head, it was a pass interference call even Mister Magoo couldn’t miss. With the ball moved up to the 2, the Buffs didn’t mess around, as the younger Sanders took the snap, spotted a seam to his left and walked into the end zone to give the hosts a 6-3 lead with 1:56 to go in the opening stanza. Travis Hunter 38, Baylor 31. Bedlam everywhere. Welcome back, Big 12. It’s like ya never left. Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.