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October 4th – at TCU TCU 35, Colorado 21
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Colorado blew a 14-0 first half lead for the second week in succession, falling on the road to TCU, 35-21. The Buffs committed four turnovers, including three interceptions by quarterback Kaidon Salter. The final score was not indicative of the game, with the Horned Frogs not surging past CU in total yards (369-343) until a salt-in-the-wound 21-yard touchdown pass from TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to wide receiver Eric McAllister with 19 seconds remaining.
Kaidon Salter finished 18-for-29 for 217 yards, with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Both passing touchdowns went to Omarion Miller, going for six yards in the first half and 31 yards in the second.
“It’s one thing to lose, then it’s another thing to feel like you beat yourselves,” Coach Prime said of the loss. “When you’re beating beaten – we were beaten in Houston, but these other games we had opportunity, ample opportunity, to win the games.
“It’s frustrating because I’m seeing what you see. I felt like, and this is no disrespect to TCU, because they’re well-coached, they did a wonderful job, the quarterback made plays; I feel like we’re the better team. I felt like that last week, the week before. But yet we’re still in this situation.”
The loss left the Buffs with a 2-4 overall record, 0-3 in Big 12 play, tied with West Virginia for the worst record in the Big 12.
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Game Story …. TCU took the opening kickoff and used a pair of completions by quarterback Josh Hoover, one going for eight yards, the other for 11, to push the ball out near midfield. There, however, the drive came to an end, with a pass on fourth-and-five at the CU 46-yard line falling incomplete, broken up by Buff defensive back Preston Hodge.
A Micah Welch run for 15 yards on CU’s first play from scrimmage pushed the ball into TCU territory. Two plays later, though, quarterback Kaidon Salter was intercepted by TCU defensive back Jamel Johnson, giving the ball right back to the Horned Frogs.
A 15-yard completion on third-and-nine kept the ball in TCU’s hands, with an 11-yard run and a 25-yard completion from Josh Hoover quickly gave the Horned Frogs a red zone opportunity at the CU 12-yard line. When Hoover ran for 10 yards on another third-and-nine gave TCU a first-and-goal at the Buff one yard line. Instead of a touchdown, TCU came up empty. An offensive pass interference penalty pushed the ball back, with kicker Nate McCashland missing a 30-yard field goal to keep it a scoreless tie with five minutes remaining in the first half.
A two-yard run by Micah Welch on third-and-two allowed the CU offense to avoid a three-and-out on its second drive. A ten-yard completion from Salter to Dallan Hayden picked up another first down, with a 28-yard completion to Terrell Timmons Jr. giving the Buffs a first down in TCU territory. Two plays later, on third-and-three at the CU 21, Salter connected with tight end Zach Atkins for a first down at the 13. Then, on another third-and-three, Salter found Omarion Miller for for a six yard touchdown to complete the 13-play, 80-yard drive. Colorado 7, TCU 0, early in the second quarter.
CU’s defense then forced its first three-and-out of the, with defensive lineman Keaten Wade sacking quarterback Josh Hoover for a 14-yard loss on third-and-12. After a 36-yard punt, the Buffs took over at the TCU 45-yard line to start their drive.
Three Micah Welch runs gained ten yards and a new set of downs. A nine-yard completion from Salter to Joseph Williams on third-and-ten left the Buffs with a fourth-and-one at the TCU 26. On the next play, Micah Welch gained four yards and a new set of downs. Then, facing third-and-nine, Salter connected with Quentin Gibson for ten yards and a first down at the TCU 11. Two plays later, Salter ran it in from the ten, giving CU a 14-0 lead for the second game in a row.
Down two scores, the TCU offense responded. Completions of 15, 14, and 13 yards moved the ball into CU territory, with a pass interference penalty giving the Horned Frogs a first down on an incompletion on third-and-eight. The 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive was culminated by a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Hoover.
Colorado 14, TCU 7, with five minutes remaining in the first half.
Two plays later, the Horned Frogs had the ball back, with Kaidon Salter throwing his second interception of the half, with Bud Clark giving TCU the ball back at the CU 33-yard line.
Two plays after that, the game was tied, with Hoover hitting Eric McAllister for a 23-yard touchdown. In less than a minute of game clock, the score went from 14-0 CU, to 14-14.
After taking a sack to open the next drive, Dallan Hayden bailed out the CU offense with 25-yard run on third-and-nine. A 34-yard pass from Salter to Omarion Miller gave the Buffs a scoring opportunity with 19 seconds left in the half. A pass interference penalty gave CU a chance at a touchdown before the break. Instead of a go-ahead score, though Kaidon Salter threw his third interception of the first half, with Jamel Johnson getting his second pick of the game.
Halftime score: Colorado 14, TCU 14
The Buffs opened the second half impressively enough, with a 13-yard pass from Kaidon Salter to Joseph Williams followed by a 12-yard completion to Quentin Gibson. On the next play, Salter hit Terrell Timmons, Jr. for a 16-yard gain to the TCU, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty. The Buffs were given new life a few plays later on a pass interference call, but could not take advantage, punting the ball away three plays later.
TCU’s first possession of the half included a conversion on third-and-one, but only five yards on the next three plays, giving the ball back to the Buffs at their 22-yard line. A 21-yard run by Dallan Hayden, who would finish the evening with a game-high 61 yards on only nine carries, gave CU a first down at the 43, but the Buffs went backwards from there, punting the ball back to the Horned Frogs.
The teams then traded short drives and punts before TCU took over at its 33-yard line late in the quarter. The Horned Frogs next set off on a 12-play, 67-yard drive to take the lead for the first time. Converting several third downs along the way, including a third-and-11, the drive was culminated on a fourth-and-two scoring pass of ten yards from quarterback Josh Hoover to tight end Lafayette Kaiuway. TCU 21, Colorado 14, in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kauiway on the touchdown, and a subsequent kickoff out of bounds, the CU offense took to field at the 50-yard line to start its next drive. The Buffs wasted little time in tying the score, needing only five plays to get into the end zone. A holding penalty set the Buffs back, but a 17-yard completion from Kaidon Salter to Sincere Brown earned the Buffs a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Salter hit Omarion Miller for a 31-yard touchdown, tying the score at 21-21 with 11:42 left to play.
The teams then traded three-and-outs before TCU took over at its 43-yard line. The Horned Frogs then went three-and-out again, thanks in part to a sack by freshman defensive end London Merritt … but it didn’t turn out to be a three-and-out. Freshman wide receiver Kam Miller, who had not fielded a punt all season, fumbled the ball on his first return, giving the ball back to the Horned Frogs at the CU 27-yard line. Three plays later, it was a 28-21 game after a 14-yard scoring pass from Josh Hoover to Joseph Manjack IV.
The Buffs had the ball, and over five minutes of clock remaining, but could not advance the football, punting the ball away after only gaining 13 yards in six plays.
A short punt gave the ball back to TCU at its 41 yards line with 2:33 to play. A 19-yard pass and an 11-yard run wiped out CU’s time outs, ending the threat. Still, with only 24 seconds remaining, and with the ball at the CU 21, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes got his revenge for CU’s 45-42 win over No. 17 TCU in Coach Prime’s debut, calling for a pass on fourth down. Josh Hoover and wide receiver Eric McAllister (listed as “questionable” on the participation chart all week, before miraculously recovering to lead the Horned Frogs with four catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns) connected for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds remaining.
Final score: TCU 35, Colorado 21
“Truly disappointed,” head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders said. “I addressed the team at the conclusion of the game in the locker room and challenged them on that moment. It’s one thing to lose and its another thing to feel like you beat yourself. We were beaten in Houston, but these other games we had ample opportunity to win the games and for some strange reason we are not preparing these young men and equipping them enough to get over that hump because we get to the same situational football every week where as we could go win it or we can do what we are consistently doing.”
“It’s the same stuff every week,” sophomore safety Tawfiq Byard said as he expressed frustration. “Leaders, we’ve got to take it upon ourselves and do better in practice. Like you said, it’s the same old stuff. We just gotta lock in on the little stuff.”
The game was more even than the final two-score difference would suggest. TCU out-gained Colorado in total offense, 369-343, but the totals were almost dead even until the rub-salt-in-the-wound touchdown in the final seconds. The Buffs held a time of possession advantage (31:32 to 28:28), a rarity for CU, and had a respectable 126 yards rushing.
In the end, though, a 4-0 deficit on turnovers, with two turnovers giving TCU short touchdown drives (33 and 27 yards), and a third halting a CU scoring drive with an interception in the end zone with the Buffs at the TCU two-yard line, were too much to overcome.
“I tell them every week, you’re going to have a moment to change the outcome of this game, and you gotta maximize your moments,” Sanders said. “That’s the way you elevate to the next level. That’s the way you go pro. That’s the way you become that person that you desire to be. It’s maximizing those moments, and we’re not.”
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Game Notes …
— The win gave TCU a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, which did not begin until 2022. It was the first Big 12 conference game between the two schools, and the first game in which the home team emerged with a win;
— The game represented the only game on the 2025 calendar in which the Buffs would play on natural grass. With a new turf installed at Folsom Field, all of CU’s remaining 11 games were on artificial surfaces;
— The Buffs end a streak of 35 straight games with three or fewer turnovers, the team’s longest streak since at least 1996;
— CU had 126 yards rushing, the team’s fifth game with 100 yards of the season. It only happened a total of six times the previous 25 games in the last two seasons, four in 2024 and two in 2023. The TCU game results gave CU the program’s first three-game stretch with 100-plus yards rushing in the Coach Prime Era;
— Kaidon Salter recorded the 15th game with a passing and rushing touchdown in the same game since the beginning of the 2023 season, most in the FBS. Salter also became the first CU quarterback to have a rushing touchdown in five straight games (he didn’t play against Houston) since John Hessler from Oct. 11-Nov. 8, 1997.
— Freshman Quentin Gibson caught three passes, his most as a Buff.
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3 Replies to “TCU 35, Colorado 21”
Kaiden isn’t the answer and JuJu needs to put some weight on. I like Staub but I think the result is the same with Staub. Too bad neither has the others strong points.
Just wondering what it’s going to take? If it ain’t one thing it’s another. This team can’t seem to buy a break. Is there some football curse at work here?
A few thoughts:
1. Who says this team doesn’t have an identity? It’s “We find ways to lose.”
2. The secondary is bad, something I thought I’d never have to say about a Coach Prime led team.
3. Salter isn’t the answer. The run game finally has a pulse and our QB can’t pass. Time to bring in JuJu. Will there be growing pains? Sure. But that’s better than what we’re going through now.