Colorado blew a 29-point halftime lead in stunning fashion Friday night, ultimately losing 46-43 in double overtime to visiting Stanford. The game marked the Buffaloes’ third loss in four games and the first time under Deion Sanders that Colorado was on the wrong end of a major upset, as the Cardinal entered with a 1-4 record as a 13-point underdog.
The result marked the biggest blown lead in Colorado school history and the largest halftime comeback in Pac-12 history. After the game, Sanders bluntly explained that he was frustrated by the outcome and the blown lead.
“I’m truly upset. I’m truly disturbed,” Sanders told reporters afterward.
Colorado scored two touchdowns each in the first and second quarters, and it seemed as if the Buffaloes were going to roll to an easy victory. Instead, Stanford outscored the Buffs 36-7 in the second half before kicking the winning field goal.
“We started off the game wonderfully, finally put it together in the first half like we desired,” Sanders said. “You surrender three touchdowns unanswered, close to it which, I can’t fathom it right now, still trying to wrap my head around it.”
After halftime, the Cardinal opened the second half with 26 unanswered points to get back into the game. Later, in the second overtime, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was intercepted in the end zone, allowing Stanford to end the game with a field goal.
Sanders explained that he felt his team was too relaxed at halftime, and he was concerned that they were going to come out flat. However, he still is perplexed about how the Buffs could blow such a large lead.
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“I felt complacency going into the half because we stalled offensively. We gave up some yardage,” Sanders said. “I just didn’t like how I felt going in at halftime. We come back out, and here comes the complacency. Here comes the team that I can’t stand, that you can’t stand, that you can’t understand how that happens to us.”
