There are times when writing the postgame Essay is easy, with the game story writing itself.
Had Colorado pulled away from North Dakota State in the second half (and, for one or two fleeting moments, you felt that might actually happen), and had the Buffs beaten the Bison by a score of say, 41-20, instead of by the actual final of 31-26, the headline might have read:
— “Shedeur Sanders: MVP” (Sanders did have 445 yards passing and four touchdowns, and could have had five but for a tipped pass interception in the end zone); or, simply,
— “Travis Hunter: OMG”
And it wasn’t as if the 2024 season opener wasn’t exciting. There were five lead changes and almost 1,000 yards of total offense. Compare the CU/NDSU game to the only other featured game on the first Thursday of the college football season, Minnesota v. North Carolina. Both games came down to the final play, but that is where the similarities end. In Minneapolis, the Tar Heels emerged with a 19-17 victory over the Golden Gophers when the Minnesota kicker missed a 47-yard field goal as time expired, while the NDSU bid for an upset fell four yards short on the game’s final play.
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