USC survives the Deion Sanders show in narrow win over Colorado
At least a dozen people crowded around Shedeur Sanders as he warmed up Saturday morning. Cameras and cellphones focused on the Colorado quarterback, whose thick, diamond-encrusted chain adorned with his No. 2 jersey number glimmered as the sun rose over the east side of Folsom Field. Fuzzy boom microphones hung overhead near midfield.
Tucked away in the corner of the end zone without a large camera in sight, Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman winner, stretched silently.
While Colorado has won college football’s popularity contest, using head coach Deion Sanders to dethrone even the original college Hollywood it-team, Williams and No. 8 USC won where it counted Saturday: 48-41 on the scoreboard.
Caleb Williams put on another stunning performance in USC’s 48-41 victory over Colorado, proving he’s worthy of winning another Heisman Trophy.
Williams survived Shedeur Sanders’ second-half surge and finished with 403 passing yards, six touchdowns and one interception on 30-of-40 passing as the Trojans (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) extended their dominance in the series to 17-0.
The junior’s career high-tying touchdown total nearly got overshadowed by another disappointing defensive performance by the Trojans, who allowed 564 yards, the most under head coach Lincoln Riley. The Trojans let Colorado (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) cut a 27-point deficit to seven and were outgained 318-165 yards during the second half.
“They made plays. And we kind of didn’t,” Riley said of the second-half struggles. “When you stop doing [making plays], especially on the road, against a team that has some talent like they do, they’re going to make a run. And they did. It’s self-inflicted errors.”
Shedeur Sanders, the junior quarterback who followed his coaching father from Jackson State and has captured the attention of this sleepy college town with his glittering multi-thousand-dollar diamond watch and electric play, threw for 262 of his 371 yards during the second half.
Before throwing for four touchdowns, Sanders sparked the comeback on the ground with a 25-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The run “gave them life,” Riley said, souring what the coach called the best first half the Trojans have played all season.
Down 34-14 at the break, Deion’s youngest son was only getting started. He led three consecutive touchdown drives entering the fourth quarter. After Colorado’s Jaylen Ellis jumped in front of an underthrown pass to grab Williams’ first interception of the season, Sanders led Colorado on an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive, which was capped by a nine-yard pass to Omarion Miller to trim the deficit to 14 with 11:55 remaining.
The sellout Colorado crowd of 54,032 rose to full attention on USC’s next drive, forcing the Trojans to take a timeout on third and five. Former NFL star Terrell Owens, dressed in a black and gold tie-dyed sweatsuit, pumped up the crowd by waving a towel on the sideline.
In the shifting college football landscape, Colorado’s resurgence has been the biggest on-field storyline this season. The Buffaloes were a 1-11 eye-sore last year. With a 3-0 start under Deion Sanders, celebrities started flocking to Boulder the way they once commanded the Coliseum during Pete Carroll’s era.
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Aaron Gordon and CC Sabathia were among the stars on the field Saturday, all wearing special Prime Passes around their necks. The golden whistle-shaped badge felt like special commodities, unlike the typical credentials that Colorado distributed in record numbers for the most in-demand media game in Folsom Field’s 100-year history.
“Deion and that team, they brought a lot of energy to Colorado,” Williams said. “Something about going on the road — it gets you up early in the morning. Can’t sleep at night. It’s fun.”
Williams quieted the crowd in the first half, lighting up a short-handed secondary without starters Travis Hunter and Shilo Sanders for four touchdowns and 260 yards on 17-of-20 passing. He finished the first half with 12 consecutive completions and tied his career high for touchdown passes with a three-yard throw to tight end Jude Wolfe with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter. It felt like a calm answer in a chaotic second half that nearly slipped away.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who dubbed himself Coach Prime, has created a frenzy while preaching his college football ethos and upgrading the Buffs.
“We’re always in it with Caleb,” said safety Bryson Shaw, who started in place of injured redshirt senior Max Williams and finished with six tackles. “But we want it to be on us. We want — the defense — we want to make the plays.”
USC, which already fell three places in the Associated Press poll with a lackluster showing at Arizona State last week, didn’t sway any remaining skeptics with another mundane road performance. After the Trojans recovered Colorado’s final onside kick with 1:43 remaining, officially ending the attempted comeback, Colorado fans chanted “over-rated” as USC ran out the clock.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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