CU Buffs’ depth will be tested after several key injuries in loss to Kansas State

BOULDER — The ESPN broadcast got creative with its “impact players” graphic on Saturday night.

For Colorado’s two impact players to watch during the game against Kansas State, the broadcast listed a wide receiver and a cornerback. Only it was the same person: Travis Hunter.

To suggest that Hunter is the Buffaloes’ top player on offense and on defense is not an exaggeration. He’s in the Heisman race for a reason. When he had to leave the game with an injury in the first half, it was a double blow.

Add in losing Jimmy Horn Jr. earlier in the game and a CU team that is certainly deeper than it was a season ago was put to the test.

“Certainly, losing Travis and Jimmy and others was tremendous, because they’re a vital part of our team, vital part of our identity, and a vital part of who we are,” Deion Sanders said after his team’s 31-28 loss. “So that took a blow; that took a lot out of us. But, other guys had the opportunity to step up, and they did. I’m proud of them.

“But you gotta understand, when you lose Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn in (a span of) ten minutes, that tremendously hurts.”

On offense, it was sophomore Omarion Miller who stepped into a bigger role with Hunter and Horn on the sidelines. The promising young wideout was the team’s leading receiver with 145 yards on eight catches as he continued to show that he is capable of making explosive plays when he’s in the game.

But even Miller was forced to exit the game with a lower left leg injury that Coach Prime said afterward forced him into a boot.

There was no update postgame on either Hunter or Horn or clarification on what injuries they suffered. Even though Hunter was in uniform on the sideline during the second half, Sanders said there was no conversation of putting him back into the game.

Even with all of the injuries, quarterback Shedeur Sanders still managed to throw for nearly 400 yards to go with his three touchdowns and one interception as he completed his 34 passes to nine different receivers.

True freshman Drelon Miller once again had a role and finished with a career-high five catches as he was suddenly one of the top targets at the end of the game.

“Being a true freshman and coming in and contributing as much as he’s doing, it’s phenomenal. Hats off to him,” Coach Prime said. “You think you’re going to get those freshman mistakes, but he’s not making them. He’s there and he’s fighting. He’s working his butt off in critical moments. I mean, when Shedeur can trust him in critical moments, that speaks a lot to who he is and how he’s risen to the occasion.”

Defensively, it was young cornerback Colton Hood who was playing in place of Hunter on the outside and he came up with his first career interception on a play that turned the game in CU’s favor for a few brief minutes late in the fourth quarter.