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November 29th – at Kansas State Kansas State 24, Colorado 14
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Kansas State running back Joe Jackson rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns as Kansas State defeated Colorado 24-14 and earned bowl eligibility for the fifth straight season on a cold and blustery day. The game-time temperature was 32 degrees with a wind chill of 24.
Quarterback Avery Johnson was 10-of-17 for 115 yards in difficult conditions for Kansas State (6-6, 5-4 Big 12). Kaidon Salter was 14-of-25 for 172 yards for Colorado (3-9, 1-8), who got two rushing touchdowns from Micah Welch.
Jackson scored his second touchdown of the day from 1-yard out with 4:32 left in the third quarter. The score capped a 56-yard drive. The Wildcats then made it a two-score game with a 35-yard field goal by Luis Rodriguez. The Wildcats stalled at the Colorado 19-yard line, but they burned 6:43 off the clock.
Down ten points with nothing to play for in the fourth quarter on the road on a cold afternoon, the Buffs nonetheless made a game of it with a nine-play, 75-yard drive to make it a 17-14 game on Welch’s second touchdown run … but Kansas State responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive of their own to put the game out of reach late.
“It’s not a consolation prize,” Coach Prime said of the Buffs’ effort. “They’re supposed to fight. They are supposed to want it and give their best. Let’s give them [KSU] some love and credit, but there’s no consolation prize given in these things.”
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Game Story … On a cold day in Manhattan, with only one team having anything to play for, the Kansas State offense looked like the team which put up 47 points against a stout Utah defense the week before.
The Wildcats put together a 13-play, 74-yard drive to open the game with a scoring drive which took up almost half of the opening quarter. Kansas State converted a third-and-eight with an 11-yard completion, converted a third-and-five with a 27-yard run, then converted a fourth-and-five at the CU 13-yard line with a nine-yard completion. The Wildcats finished the drive with a four-yard scoring run by running back Joe Jackson.
The Buff offense, starting Kaidon Salter at quarterback in order to preserve the red-shirt season for freshman quarterback Julian Lewis, actually came out with some fight on its first drive. On third-and-one to open the drive, running back Micah Welch went for four yards and a first down. A few plays later, Kaidon Salter was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-two at midfield … but the Wildcats were called for a facemask penalty, keeping the drive alive. A ten-yard run by Salter gave the Buffs a first down in the red zone, at the KSU 19-yard line, but a sack and a blocked 39-yard field goal attempt by Alejandro Mata left the Buffs off the scoreboard late in the first quarter.
The CU defense next forced a three-and-out out of the KSU offense, giving the ball right back to the Buffs.
On third-and-six to open the drive, Kaidon Salter hit wide receiver Kaleb Mathis for a 12-yard gain and a first down. On CU’s next third down, the Buffs were bailed out on a roughing the passer penalty, giving CU a fresh set of downs. A few plays later, on fourth-and-three at the KSU 33-yard line, running back Dallan Hayden … went for two yards.
After completing a 19-yard pass on third-and-15, the Wildcats pushed the ball out near midfield. On fourth-and-one at the CU 45, though, running back Joe Jackson was stuffed for a two yard loss by Buff Keaten Wade, giving the Buffs the ball back at their 47-yard line.
Kaidon Salter and the offense, though, was unable to take advantage. A three-yard run on fourth-and-one kept the drive alive, but two plays later threw an interception, with his deep attempt being picked off by KSU defensive back Donovan McIntosh at the Wildcat 16-yard line.
The Buff defense then forced its second three-and-out of the first half, but a 62-yard punt gave CU the ball back at their 16-yard line.
The ensuing CU drive was one of its best of the day. The Buffs opened the drive with a 24-yard run by Dallan Hayden, followed by 14-yard run by Hayden. After a nine-yard completion from Salter to Omarion Miller and a five-yard run by Hayden gave the Buffs another first down, the Buffs two plays later faced a third-and-17 at the KSU 39.
No problem. Salter then hit Omarion Miller for a 38-yard gain, setting the Buffs up with a first-and-goal at the one yard line. Two plays later, Micah Welch put the Buffs on the board with 13 seconds remaining before the break.
Halftime score: Kansas State 7, Colorado 7
A 23-yard run by quarterback Kaidon Salter, followed by a ten-yard run by Salter, got the Buffs off to a good start to open the third quarter. The CU offense, though, was only able to gain nine yards on the next four plays, with the Buffs turning the ball over on downs on a one-yard run by Dallan Hayden on fourth-and-two at the KSU 32-yard line.
The teams traded three-and-outs before the Wildcats took over at their 44-yard line. It took KSU only six plays to cover 56 yards to retake the lead. Passes going for 17 yards and 21 yards set up the score, with running back Joe Jackson giving KSU a 14-7 lead with a one yard run late in the third quarter.
A ten-yard completion from Salter to Sincere Brown gave CU one first down on its next drive, but the Buff offense gained only seven yards on the next three plays, with the Buffs punting the ball away for only the second time in the game.
The Wildcats then set off on a drive similar to the one which they used to open the game. Taking over at their 22-yard line, the KSU offense set off on a 15-play drive, consuming almost seven minutes of game clock. The Buff defense was able to force a fourth-and-one at the CU 39, but the Wildcats converted with a five-yard run by quarterback Avery Johnson. The Wildcats pushed the ball as far as the CU 17-yard line, but there they stalled. Still, a 35-yard field goal by kicker Luis Rodriguez gave Kansas State a two-score lead, at 17-7, with 10:23 remaining.
Rather than folding up their tents for the season, the Colorado offense set off on a scoring drive of their own. A 43-yard pass from Salter to Omarion Miller opened the drive, moving the ball into KSU territory at the 32. Three plays later, the drive was kept alive when pass interference was called on a third-and-ten. A ten-yard run by Salter next gave CU a first-and-goal at the five, with Micah Welch posting his second one-yard touchdown run of the game, making it a 17-14 game midway through the fourth quarter.
With an upset now a possibility for the 17-point underdogs, the Colorado defense, which had played well for most of the afternoon … was unable to get a stop.
The KSU offense never faced a third down on the eight-play, 75-yard drive, with a 17-yard touchdown run by Joe Jackson putting the game out of reach with just over two minutes remaining.
CU’s final drive of the season included a 16-yard completion from Salter to Omarion Miller, and a 15-yard completion to tight end Zach Atkins, but the drive … and CU’s 3-9 2025 campaign, fittingly came to an end with a sack of Salter on fourth down at the KSU 42-yard line.
Final score: Kansas State 24, Colorado 14
“It’s emotional out there after every game you lose,” Coach Prime said of CU’s final game of his third season (16-21 overall). “I’m not a loser. I don’t handle it well. I don’t cope well; I’m a thinker, so I always try to visualize and see plays all night long. What we could have, should have, would have done better? I just told them [the team] we won’t be in this situation again. I promise you that, because I’m not happy right now.
“I’ve learned a tremendous amount this season. It’s not like I desire to learn it this way, but I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how it’s not always about wins and losses. It’s about young men. It’s about coaches. It’s about situational football. It’s about life. It’s about so many things and I’m thankful that these guys fought until the end. They didn’t shut it down.”
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6 Replies to “Kansas State 24, CU 14”
Well said ep, it’s getting harder to embrace the game I’ve loved for 60 years plus. Prime told us this was a better team than last year. Then you and your all-star staff really dropped the ball. Better get busy fixing this mess. The new AD may not have much patience.
You cannot put this on the greatest AD CU has or ever will have. Rick George is the model of excellence. Colorado Alumni and fans do not give back. Simply loving the team and showing up at game day is why CU football players only recieved a T-shirt for going to the Alamo Bowl. This problem is fair weather fan problem and its only going to get worse.
Bill Marolt was pretty good.
Your point about CU alumni and donors has always puzzled me. CU has plenty of very wealthy alumni. Not just Trey and Matt.
Looking forward to seeing what shakes down in Boulder this offseason.
Go Buffs
The good news is……Dieon is no longer charging 300 bucks for his autograph!
Ok, there’s a whole generation that has seen about 18 losing seasons in the last 20 and wonder why we older people are still clinging to the good old days. With each new hc I hold out hope for a winner and get let down each time. There better be whole sale changes to this coaching staff or it will be more of the same. The Buffs are out coached and out recruited year after year and it just gets old from this fans perspective. I hope a new AD can turn this around.
You nailed me on the older people riding on the good ol days. After each one of these seasons of frustration, coupled with the money grubbing college football has become,I have to admit my passion is fading. I wonder just how focused the AD’s, RG included, are when it comes to choosing a new coach. The very next one after the last successful coach, Hawkins should have been a warning and a lesson for the future. It appears to me, and 20 20 hindsight is absolutely appropriate here, that it would not have taken much more investigation to find out Hawkins was a fraud and Peterson was responsible for Boise’s great success. Since then the very lengthy series of blunders can’t be result of just bad luck.
Now we are at apoint where we have a head coach no one wants to fire that I dont think can be trusted to find new assistants. Sanders should have given shurmur a gold watch, a certificate of thanks and a time share in Florida after last year at the very latest. No doubt getting Shedeur to the NFL was a priority and doing that was also a benefit to the Buffs but even an average running game would have even improved Shedeur’s performance and prevented some of the unbelievable amount of sacks. Its my opinion we could have made the playoffs , Failure to do that over his entire 2 and a half years should have been enough to say we are happy with your service but we are moving on to another level.
Then you have these search committees. Who is on them? Any retired very successful coaches? Just having a bunch of guys making the decision, some with differing opinions would have a tendency to settle for middle ground. 5 in a row failures between Barnett and Sanders screams something is wrong here. The first person we should be vetting should be the guy who will help us choose Sander’s assistants. Who can tell what the potential is by looking at not only the results on the field but everything else that goes into that? Probably a very long term successful retired coach(s)