Colorado Upsets No. 14 Houston 42-32 to End Their CFP Hopes

The college football world spent its Friday night frantically reworking travel plans after an FAA ground stop, but Colorado spent it ending No. 14 Houston’s College Football Playoff hopes with a 42-32 home upset.

Seeing that supporters rushed the turf following a victory against unranked Kansas State—which was their sole other Big 12 triumph this year—nobody was surprised when the crowd repeated the celebration once time expired.

This painful setback deals a major blow to Houston, which came into the matchup holding a 7-2 record and a slim possibility of reaching the CFP.

Sweetwyne is @CUBuffsFootball's 5️⃣th TD scorer of the game 😲 📺 No. 14 Houston trails by 15 on the road on ESPN pic.twitter.com/ujKxakev2q

— Post by @CFBPlayoff on X

On the other sideline, the victory could serve as the prime argument for Colorado head coach Deion Sanders to keep his job after this season. There had been talk of the coach being on the hot seat after the team fell to 3-6, but the program responded with arguably the biggest win of his tenure.

The result was hardly close down the stretch, even though Houston opened the game by scoring on its first four possessions to take a 20-7 lead. Colorado responded by rattling off 28 straight points between the second and third quarters.

Colorado finished with 249 rushing yards, most for the program since 261 against Northern Colorado on Sept. 3, 2021. Richard Young led the way with 21 carries for 99 yards and 2 TD. #cubuffs

— Post by @BrianHowell33 on X

All upset alerts were sounded when the Buffaloes took a 35-20 lead on a Kaneal Sweetyne touchdown run. The Cougars managed to answer with a touchdown during the fourth quarter, though an unsuccessful two-point conversion ensured the margin remained at two scores.

Colorado then put the game out of reach by orchestrating an 11-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a Richard Young touchdown run. Young paced the offense by taking on the heavy workload of 21 carries that yielded 99 yards and two scores, while the Buffaloes amassed a collective 39 carries for 249 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Stunner Colorado upsets No. 14 Houston to keep bowl hopes alive — Brian Howell

That performance marks the program’s highest rushing total since Sept. 3, 2021, against Northern Colorado. Quarterback Isaac Wilson completed 17 of 25 passes for 217 yards, adding a passing touchdown and an interception.

The Cougars actually outgained Colorado 477 to 466 in total offense, but a pair of costly turnovers and bad timing put the game out of reach.