Coach Deion Sanders and his Colorado football team can still pull this off.

If they beat Texas Tech today in Lubbock, they will be one step closer to two of the biggest prizes in college football – a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth.

A win would mean they would at least remain in second place in the Big 12 with three regular-season games remaining.

A loss could cripple those hopes.

The Buffaloes (6-2) are tied for second in the Big 12 standings with Iowa State with a 4-1 record in league play behind BYU (5-0). They Buffs don’t play either team and could use an Iowa State loss down the stretch to clear their path.

But winning today at Tech is essential to keep them in the best position after taking last week off. They rank 20th in the race for the 12-team playoff. A win also would help the Heisman Trophy candidacy of two-way star Travis Hunter.

It doesn’t look to be easy, though. Texas Tech (6-3) has the nation’s fifth-leading rusher in yards per game: senior running back Tahj Brooks (130.9).

Follow along here for live update, news and highlights of the game:

When is the Colorado-Texas Tech game?

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 9 from Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

How to watch Colorado-Texas Tech game

The game will be broadcast on Fox and also is available on Fubo.

Watch Colorado vs. Texas Tech on Fubo

Can Travis Hunter win the Heisman Trophy?

Another big game today by him on offense, defense or both would further propel his candidacy for the award. He currently is the odds-on favorite to win it, according to BetMGM, ahead of Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Hunter missed the second halves of two games this season with a shoulder injury but an off week last week helped him heal. His attendance on two national pregame shows last week on Fox and ESPN also boosted his profile.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he even would vote for Hunter to the win the trophy over Sanders’ quarterback son Shedeur, who also is a Heisman candidate.

“Travis gets my vote,” Sanders said on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show Saturday in Lubbock.

Shilo Sanders court hearing

Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, son of coach Deion Sanders, had an important hearing in his bankruptcy case Thursday in Denver. He was not required to attend and did not as he prepared for Saturday’s game at Tech. His attorneys made arguments on his behalf as he tries get out of more than $11 million in debt related to an incident in 2015.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Traffic picked up this year at the Oakwood Homes sales office for Banning Lewis Ranch, where new homes in the northern Colorado Springs neighborhood start in the mid-$300,000s.

But business is nowhere near pre-pandemic levels or even during the pandemic, when home buying was in a frenzy, Lauren Hanshaw, a new-home counselor at the office, said on a quiet weekend morning last month. She’s comparing it with 2023, which she called “my worst year in 10 years.”

“Traffic is a little bit more pointed. You don’t have as many lookie-loos versus people who are in need of a home,” Hanshaw said. “This year, we’re seeing a little bit more of a calmness because people understand that there’s still a demand, a need for homes and that rates are cyclical. They’ll be able to change that status in a couple years if they refinance their home.”

Since mortgage rates have barely budged even with two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve since September, Hanshaw’s belief is that shoppers are more educated. They know they won’t walk out the door with a monthly payment of under $1,800 or $2,000 — a very doable feat when rates were below 4% and even 5% at the Banning Lewis Ranch price point. On Thursday, the average mortgage rate for a traditional, fixed-rate 30-year loan was 6.98%, according to Mortgage News Daily, up from 6.62% a month ago and down from 7.41% a year ago.

But builders like Oakwood are doing what they can to get potential buyers in the door with rate-reduction incentives. Nearby Richmond American Homes is touting 3.999% rates (which increases to 5.999% in year three). Baessler Homes, which builds in northern Colorado, has a deal to get payments to “as low as $1,977” in the first year, and is essentially offering up to $20,000 in concessions (housing payments increase after year one to $2,578 in year four, or a 5.99% rate).

Meanwhile Oakwood, which started the year with some 4.99% offers, now has a 2.99% offer on select houses in Colorado Springs and a 3.99% promo in Denver. The builder is also working with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to provide down-payment assistance of up to $25,000, plus below-market rate loans. Most of the incentives, though, are only available to certain buyers and for certain houses.

It’s been working, especially after the pullback in 2023, said Michael Fraley, Oakwood Homes’ chief growth officer.

“When we rolled into 2024, we really started to do what we call builder forwards that were allowing us to get the rates down,” Fraley said. “As we started to introduce these rates, the 4.99%, and in some instances we got down to 4.25%, that’s when we saw many customers. In fact, our number one selling collection is the Ascent Collection in Colorado Springs. We sell about eight of those a month and that’s been consistent.”

The lowest priced two-bedroom, two-bath homes in the Ascent Collection are duplexes — 1,264 square feet and starting at $334,990. That’s less than El Paso County’s median sales price of $370,000 for a townhouse or condo in September.

Oakwood could probably sell more but is only building eight a month in that community, Fraley said. However, he added, “Had we not been able to find a way to get those below-market rates, I don’t think they would be selling as well.”

Concessions aren’t limited to new-home builders. Sellers and buyers often negotiate on the list price. According to the Colorado Association of Realtors data, sellers were getting very close to what their asking price in September — or 98.6% of what they asked for. That compares to June 2021, when bidding wars were common and sellers received 104.4% of their list price.

Of course, now, it’s a different market. According to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, seller concessions were up in June to 48% of sales, compared to 29.2 percent a year earlier. The average concession was $7,295.

It’s all cyclical, said Hanshaw, who began working in the real estate industry in 2014 as the economy was recovering from the Great Recession.

“When I started in the industry, it was like you could ask for the world — a free basement, free backyard landscaping, free fencing and builders would entertain it to obtain a sale. Then it became a market of, I’m not giving you a refrigerator because the next person that walks in the door will take the deal without a refrigerator,” she said. “Now, I’d say, we’re back into negotiating a little bit heavier to obtain the sale.”

➔ 58% of Denver metro rentals offering an incentives. Free parking, free rent and other concessions for renters are on the rise, according to data from real estate site Zillow. In the Denver metro area, 58% of rental listings in October offered some sort of concession, up from 43.4% last year.

Nationwide, concessions were at a record high with 37.7% of all listings offering some sort of perk, compared with 30% a year earlier. That means landlords are competing for renters, especially after September saw a 50-year high in completed construction projects aimed at renters. Denver metro saw the third-highest jump in share of listings with a concession. >> Details

Sun economy stories you may have missed

➔ How to reduce trash — in outer space? A Colorado company is working on its own WALL-E-like trash compactor for future space habitats. >> Read story

➔ Clean-car sales jump 10% as Coloradans lean on state, federal and utility rebates. EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids made up 38% of vehicle registrations in third quarter of 2024 >> Read story

➔ Denver Health was losing almost 90% of its nitrous oxide to leaks. So it cut the gas. The hospital is switching from centrally piped nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas — to portable tanks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions >> Read story

➔ Health care prices for Colorado public sector retirees see huge increase for 2025. Two Medicare Advantage plans offered by Colorado PERA are seeing big jumps — 130% for one and more than 200% for the other >> Read story

Election 2024 stories:

• Proposition 130: Voters back a $350M funding boost for Colorado law enforcement >> Read
• Proposition 129 passes: Colorado creates new veterinary position aimed at solving pet care shortage >> Read
• Denver’s 2Q: Voters appear to approve tax increase for Denver Health >> Read

➔ View all of our Election 2024 coverage

Take the poll: Insurance woes

If you missed the reader poll last week, there’s still time! The spike in homeowners insurance costs may have wiped out any savings of a low-interest mortgage. Feeling it? Take the reader poll to help us better understand what’s going on in Colorado ➔ cosun.co/WWinsurance

Other working bits

➔ 185 applications for Colorado’s broadband program. And they’re asking for $1.78 billion, which is more than double what the state received in funding for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. U.S. lawmakers approved the federal program after realizing in the pandemic that some places in America have mediocre or nonexistent internet service.

Colorado received $826.5 million in BEAD funding and opened its program to applicants earlier this year. If all projects were approved, that would help 111,896 homes, schools, businesses and community organizations, according to the Colorado Broadband Office, which is overseeing the grants. More than half of those locations — approximately 67,559 — are considered unserved with no broadband internet service. The Broadband Office plans to review every application in the coming weeks, which will take up to 160 days. >> Details

• Even more broadband money? BEAD doesn’t do everything though. So, the Broadband Office proposes taking the High-Cost Support Mechanism (HCSM) Fund, which is collected by telephone companies to provide universal service, and create the Advance-Local program. The proposal would use 60% of the $14 million to award middle-mile projects, which are the fiber lines connecting big pipes nationwide to the local provider’s. The remaining 40% would be for grants to local internet providers and short-term construction. At least that’s the plan. The office is open to feedback.
• $11.8 million more going to southern Colorado. After the state’s awarded $113.5 million from the federal Capital Projects Fund for 27 projects statewide last January, more funding arrived. That’s now been granted to the Southern Colorado Economic Development District in Crowley County to connect 1,753 homes and businesses. Combined with an additional $2.8 million in public/private matching funds, the Crowley community would invest $8,316 per home or business. SCEDD earlier received $12.5 million to improve infrastructure in Bent, Otero, Pueblo and Lake counties. >> Details

➔ Send a question to the EEOC. Any question is allowed, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is hosting the annual end-of-the year webinar Nov. 12 at noon. Will the questions be answered? That’s unknown. But questions need to be asked during pre-registration for the 90-minute session. >> Register

Got some economic news or business bits Coloradans should know? Tell us: cosun.co/heyww

Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. Remember to check out The Sun’s daily coverage online. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara

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What’s Working is a Colorado Sun column about surviving in today’s economy. Email tamara@coloradosun.com with stories, tips or questions. Read the archive, ask a question at cosun.co/heyww and don’t miss the next one by signing up at coloradosun.com/getww.

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Corrections & Clarifications

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Colorado’s first major snowstorm of the season brought large swaths of the Front Range and Eastern Plains to a standstill Friday as it dumped nearly 3 feet of snow in some areas, closing government offices, schools and major interstates.

Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency for the storm, authorizing the Colorado National Guard to step in and help people impacted by the storm and activating the state emergency operations center.

Southern Colorado, the Eastern Plains and mountains saw the most snowfall Friday, with at least 35 inches in Cuchara; 28 inches in Rye and Genoa; and 22 inches in Pinecliffe.

Weather officials reported 9 inches of snow in Denver, 13 inches in Aurora and 15 inches in Highlands Ranch and Lakewood as of Friday morning.

The extended stretch of freezing temperatures contributed to a devastating Lakewood apartment fire on Friday morning, which sparked around 5 a.m. by a space heater set up to keep pipes from freezing.

The fire destroyed an apartment building near Ammons Street and West 12th Avenue, killing two cats and displacing four people, according to West Metro Fire Rescue.

Other than the Lakewood fire, the storm’s impact was mostly limited to major travel disruptions caused by road closures across Colorado. Law enforcement agencies did not report any significant crashes and Xcel Energy did not report any widespread power outages as of late Friday.

That was the goal when Colorado Department of Transportation officials banned commercial motor vehicles and all trailers from most highways and interstates Friday night and Saturday morning, agency officials said in a news release.

Tractor-trailers and other large vehicles were prohibited on sections of Interstate 70, Interstate 25, U.S. 285, U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass, and U.S. 6 through Clear Creek Canyon and over Loveland Pass until 8 a.m. Saturday.

“This restriction is designed to reduce the chances of semi truck and other impactful spinouts that require extensive manpower and specialized equipment to clear, and often cause prolonged closures of the interstate,” CDOT officials said in a statement.

Most highways south and east of Denver were still closed late Friday, including I-70 east of Aurora to Kansas and southbound I-25 between Pueblo and New Mexico.

The storm’s impacts were not limited to the ground as travelers passing through Denver International Airport faced more than 1,300 canceled or delayed flights on Friday, including 269 canceled SkyWest flights, 127 canceled Southwest flights and 64 canceled Frontier flights.

Snow is expected to taper off by noon Saturday, though Coloradans may see continued travel impacts through the weekend, state officials said.