Texas Tech threw everything it had at the CU Buffs. And we do mean everything. Shallow crosses. Wheel routes. Flatbreads. Water bottles.
With 12:12 to go in a bizarrely played and even more bizarrely officiated 41-27 CU victory on Saturday, things devolved to the point where Red Raiders football coach Joey McGuire grabbed the public-address microphone at Jones AT&T Stadium.
“Hey … students!” McGuire shouted. “Stop throwing stuff on the field! Please!”
Advertisement
Early in the first quarter, Hunter picked up a tortilla that had drifted onto the field. The best player in college football, who apparently also hates littering, promptly stuck it in his pants.
With 1:18 left in the third quarter and his Buffs up 31-20, Shilo Sanders spotted a water bottle thrown his way. The CU safety grabbed the thing and lofted it back into the stands.
Big 12 refs had about as much control of that tilt as Mr. Toad did his Rolls Royce. CU and Tech combined for 23 penalties and 186 yards in sins. It was the kind of afternoon where, if McGuire and CU coach Deion Sanders weren’t such good friends, someone would’ve started swinging fists or folding chairs by the fourth quarter.
The Buffs’ cooler heads prevailed. Despite the chaos, CU (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) moved into sole possession of second place in the conference with three games left to play. The Buffs extended their road win streak to four straight for the first time since 1996. They survived a 13-0 deficit in the first quarter, and shook off 15 minutes straight of getting punched in the kisser.
But more impressively, they endured a barrage from some of the trashiest fans in college football.
Advertisement
Throwing tortillas? That’s cute.
Throwing a water bottle? That’s assault.
Lubbock didn’t like the refs, so it lost its cool. It didn’t like the scoreboard, so it lost its dang mind.
“I had a vape given to me, (a) water bottle given to me and a beer bottle given to me,” McGuire said later, according to KTXT-FM. “I’m shocked we didn’t get a penalty.”
Travis Hunter (12) of the Colorado Buffaloes runs for a touchdown during the second half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on Nov. 9, 2024, in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Tech officials were lucky someone wasn’t seriously hurt. While Red Raider fans struggled to grasp common decency and sportsmanship, Tech’s offensive and defensive lines struggled mightily with CU in the trenches.
Advertisement
Tech tailback Tajh Brooks, who was averaging 5.3 yards per carry at home before Saturday, was limited to 4.4 per tote on 31 attempts. CU piled up 10 tackles for loss and sacked Raiders QB Behren Morton six times.
Just like the road demolitions of UCF and Arizona, the Buffs had several players take turns with the crowbar. Amari McNeill, a transfer from the Tennessee Volunteers, racked up 1.5 sacks, along with three stops for losses. Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, another transfer, picked off a Morton pass, while edge rushers Arden Walker (two sacks) and Keaten Wade (1.5 sacks) combined to take the Tech QB down 3.5 times between them.
This one didn’t feel like so much of a game as it did in installments of a mega-bucks movie franchise. Each quarter had a tone, a big bad and emotional twists all its own.
The opening stanza belonged to the hosts. Tech came out of the gates doing its best North Dakota State. How do you mess with a Robert Livingston defense early? Attack the safeties with crossing routes and make those downhill linebackers have to cover receivers leaking out of the backfield.
Down 13-0, CU didn’t force a three-and-out until the first play of the second quarter. Offensively, the Buffs were just 1 for 7 on third downs at the half.
Advertisement
Eventually, though, both teams reverted to type.
The Buffs outscored the Red Raiders 10-0 in the second quarter and 21-7 in the third. Tech came into the weekend leading the Big 12 in penalties per game (7.8). After just three flags over a relatively peaceful first and second quarters, the hosts committed four penalties in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Back-to-back face-mask and holding flags late in the third stanza took a CU drive from first down at its own 38 to a fresh set of downs at the Tech 27. Shedeur took care of the rest, hitting Will Sheppard for 17 yards and then from five yards out on a perfect lob to the back right pylon — a score that put CU up 23-20 with 4:25 to go until the fourth period.
At the same time, Kansas was busy doing CU a giant solid against Iowa State. The Jayhawks’ 2-6 record as of Saturday morning was deceptive — KU entered the weekend ranked No. 36 nationally in ESPN’s Football Power Index, better than Arizona State (38th), Wisconsin (39th), Cincinnati (40th), UNLV (42nd) and Michigan (46th). Five of those six Jayhawks losses had come by six points or fewer.
KU took it out on Cyclones at Arrowhead Stadium, holding on for a 45-36 win that wrested control of second place, and an inside track to the Big 12 Championship, out of ISU’s sweaty palms.
Advertisement
Rock Chalk in Kansas City will be the Buffs’ problem in two weeks, although it’s a delicious one. Because CU controls its own destiny now. And said destiny is on the express lane to Dallas, Coach Prime’s backyard, and to a berth in the Big 12 title game.
Anything this league’s thrown at CU, the program’s found an answer for. Bottles included.
On Saturday, the Buffs handled trash the way a College Football Playoff team should.
They took it out.
Anquin Barnes Jr. (92), Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig (7), and Tawfiq Thomas (95) of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrate during the second half of the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on Nov. 9, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Dallas Mavericks (8-7, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (8-5, fifth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EST
Advertisement
BOTTOM LINE: Dallas seeks to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Mavericks take on Denver.
The Nuggets are 4-5 in Western Conference games. Denver is fifth in the league with 46.2 rebounds led by Nikola Jokic averaging 13.7.
The Mavericks have gone 6-6 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 17.2 fast break points per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 4.6.
The Nuggets make 46.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Mavericks have allowed to their opponents (44.7%). The Mavericks average 115.6 points per game, 0.5 more than the 115.1 the Nuggets give up to opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is shooting 47.9% and averaging 18.3 points for the Nuggets.
Advertisement
Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.3 points and 5.2 assists for the Mavericks.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 45.4 rebounds, 30.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.0 points per game.
Mavericks: 5-5, averaging 118.0 points, 44.3 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.2 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Nikola Jokic: day to day (personal).
Mavericks: Dante Exum: out (wrist).
Advertisement
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Pop music icon Billie Eilish had a very important request before performing a sold-out show at Denver’s Ball Arena on Tuesday night: She wanted to snuggle with some animals.
Two Front Range shelters were more than happy to bring some furry friends for a backstage meet-and-greet with Eilish and her team, Brighter Days Dog Rescue founder and director Becca Orin said.
Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary first got the request through the venue, and the Commerce City sanctuary teamed up with Brighter Days in Boulder to bring puppies, kittens and a pony to the arena.
Billie Eilish snuggles with a puppy and pony from Brighter Days Dog Rescue and Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary before performing at Ball Arena in Denver on Nov. 19, 2024. (Courtesy of Becca Orin)
Eilish, her mom and team were “amazing,” Orin said, and showered the animals with love – particularly Samson the pony, who was overjoyed by all of the attention and cookies.
Advertisement
Brighter Days shared photos of the visit in a post on Facebook, with Eilish grinning cheek-to-cheek with a puppy and getting a nuzzle from Samson.
“This is not the first time we have brought animals to Ball Arena for the artists ahead of their performance, but this was the first time the artist was kind enough and generous enough to let us take pictures and give us permission to post them on social media,” Orin said.
Eilish is set to perform a second sold-out show at Ball Arena on Wednesday night as part of her Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.
The Denver Broncos just had one of their complete and dominating wins in a long time.
Bo Nix put up one of the best games a rookie quarterback has played in the NFL.
Now the Broncos (6-5) are in the thick of the AFC Playoff picture and a legitimate NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Now Denver will look for the season sweep of the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) on Sunday. Prior to their 34-18 win in Week 5, the Broncos hadn’t beaten Las Vegas in eight straight games.
To keep the playoff hopes alive, Denver needs to follow up their win over the Atlanta Falcons with another strong performance this week.
Advertisement
Offensive Rankings
Denver: Twenty-third in total offense (312.5 yards per game), 20th in rushing offense (116.0 YPG), 25th in passing offense (196.5 YPG), 20th in scoring (21.4 points per game).
Las Vegas: Thirtieth in total offense (285.0 yards per game), 32nd in rushing offense (75.2 YPG), 17th in passing offense (209.8 YPG), tied for 24th in scoring (18.7 points per game).
Defensive Rankings
Denver: Third in total defense (289.4 yards per game), sixth in rushing defense (98.6 YPG), seventh in passing defense (190.7 YPG), third in scoring (16.6 points per game).
Las Vegas: Tied for 13th in total defense (327.8 yards per game), 15th in rushing defense (125.1 YPG), 11th in passing defense (202.7 YPG), 29th in scoring (28.5 points per game).
Here are the MHR staff’s keys to Sunday’s game.
Advertisement
No let up from the Broncos
Denver absolutely dominated and demolished the Falcons. It’s natural to have a letup the following week, especially against a bad opponent. The Broncos need to avoid this and adopt the same mindset they did against Atlanta. Don’t think about Las Vegas’s record or any of the struggles. Focus on the task at hand this week, and that’s playing another complementary football game. — Ian St. Clair
Dominate on third downs
To keep winning games, the Broncos need to continue winning on the money down. Check out how they’ve done on 3rd down over the last month:
Vs CAR: 11 of 17 (64.7%)
@ BAL: 6 of 14 (42.9%)
@ KC: 7 of 13 (53.8%)
Vs ATL: 6 of 11 (54.5%)
Total: 30 of 55 (54.5%)
What’s crazy about that is that the Broncos are still down at just 36.99% (20th) on the season- evidence of just how much this offense has improved since those early struggles. Turning that around has resulted in two blowout wins and a heartbreaker of a what-should’ve-been in the last month. And that 54.5% mark is top 5 in the NFL over that time period. Continuing that success will mean dominating teams like the Raiders who lack the QB or the offensive horsepower to match the Broncos. — Taylor Kothe
Generate turnovers
The Raiders were lowkey sticking it to the Broncos defense early in their last matchup, but that pick-six by Pat Surtain changed everything. Gardner Minshew hasn’t been the same quarterback since and the Broncos defense needs to keep that lack of confidence a thing next week. If they can get him to commit just one turnover, I think that’ll keep the edge completely in favor of Denver’s D in this game. — Tim Lynch
Own the line of scrimmage
The offense can control the game by running the football and keeping Bo Nix clean. The big guys up front did the work against the Falcons, and that should continue against the Raiders. On defense, the line can make Gardner Minshew wish he was cutting grass instead of being shoved into it. Being disruptive in the backfield, and causing issues in the run game should lead to turnovers, good field position on offense and points. — Adam Malnati
Contain Brock Browers
Bowers went for 8-97-1 in the Week 5 clash with the Raiders and has become the target of choice for Minshew over the last several weeks, clearly apparent from his 13-126-1 line last week against Miami. I fully expect Surtain can shut down Jakobi Meyers on the outside, but some combination of McMillan, linebackers, and safeties — maybe even two of the above — will need to key on the rookie tight end. If the Broncos succeed vs. Bowers, Vegas is going to be hard-pressed to move the ball. — Jonathan Rice
Advertisement
Keep up the creative playcalling
Against the Falcons, Head Coach Sean Payton did a tremendous job of being creative with his playcalling. I thought it was one of the best games he called all season. Pro sets and pistol look, extensive use of motion, and multiple types of screenplays had the Broncos’ offense rolling and firing on all cylinders. Various players at multiple skill positions had their names called and rose to the occasion. The Raiders’ defense is in the top half of the league in rushing and passing yards allowed, but one of the worst-ranked teams in points allowed. That should provide the Broncos’ offense another prime opportunity to keep the momentum going in their favor. — Christopher Hart
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")