CU Buffs vs. UCF: 3 takeaways from Colorado’s impressive road win to improve to 2-0 in Big 12

ORLANDO, Fla. — Deion Sanders and his Florida boys couldn’t have asked for a better homecoming back to the Sunshine State.

Despite coming into the game as nearly two touchdown underdogs, Colorado put together its best and most complete performance of the Coach Prime era with a 48-21 over Central Florida for the biggest margin of victory under Sanders.

The win moves the Buffaloes to 2-0 in Big 12 play (4-1 on the season) for the first time in a full season since 2018. Here are three takeaways from the game at FBC Mortgage Stadium:

Dominant showing from Pat Shurmur’s offense

At the end of last week’s dramatic comeback win over Baylor, CU’s offense was sputtering. Shedeur Sanders was sacked or under pressure on about every play and it took a miracle to win the Big 12 opener.

A week later and two time zones away, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur found something with a unit that looked completely different.

With plenty of time to throw behind an offensive line that was reshuffled once again, Shedeur finished 28-for-35 throwing the football for 290 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

Travis Hunter was once again stellar on offense with nine receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Will Sheppard also had 99 yards on four catches, including a 47-yard touchdown.

The CU offense finished with over 400 yards for the third straight game.

Robert Livingston’s defense continues to look strong

There’s now no question about who the best hire Coach Prime has made so far with the Buffs. It’s defensive coordinator Robert Livingston.

The longtime Cincinnati Bengals assistant has completely transformed the CU defense in his first year as a coordinator and play caller. UCF’s 461 total yards in the game might feel like a lot, but that’s about an average day for a Big 12 offense.

Regardless, it’s the effort and energy that the CU defenders play with that stands out. Their point-of-attack run defense is sound and they’re starting to put pressure on the quarterback as well with five on Saturday.

The Buffs also forced four turnovers in the game, including one interception by Preston Hodge in the red zone as UCF was threatening to score on its first drive of the game and a 95-yard scoop-and-score touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Hunter had to get in the action, too, with his second pick of the season — one that he hit the Heisman pose after.

Buffs overcome weather delay

After rain was coming down hard at the end of last week’s game, CU once again had to battle the elements.

Lightning in the area prevented both teams from being able to warm up on Saturday until slightly after 1 p.m. MT and the original kickoff time of 1:30 p.m. MT was pushed back to 2:20 p.m. MT.

That didn’t bother Coach Prime’s team, though, as they put together their best first half performance of the season in jumping out to a 27-17 lead despite a shortened pregame warmup. It’s almost as if the nearly two dozen CU players from Florida were used to this kind of weather.