Black Friday marked the final regular-season game for Colorado. While the Buffaloes remain in contention for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game — but need a little help from teams like Arizona State, BYU, and Iowa State to get there — Friday’s finale against Oklahoma State might be the final time Colorado takes the field ahead of December 9.
The day Heisman ballots are due to be turned in by voters.
As such, Friday’s game against the Cowboys was perhaps Travis Hunter’s closing argument for Heisman voters.
And the two-way star delivered perhaps the perfect summation of his candidacy.
Hunter caught 10 passes for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns on the offensive side of the football, and added an early interception in the game on the defensive side of the ball, as Colorado routed Oklahoma State by a final score of 52-0. The blowout victory sees the Buffaloes finish their regular season with a 9-3 record (7-2 in conference play), and they now await results on Saturday to see if they can earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, and give Hunter yet one more crack at impressing the voters.
But if Friday was his last chance, it was quite the effort from Hunter. This interception early in the game highlighted his skills on the defensive side of the football, from his route recognition to his closing skills on the throw itself:
Hunter’s interception gifted the Buffaloes a short field early in the first quarter, and Colorado capitalized on the field position with a one-yard plunge from Micah Welch.
Colorado had a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter when Hunter reached the end zone for the first time on the afternoon, hauling in this short throw from Shedeur Sanders for an 11-yard touchdown:
Hunter’s second TD of the game came early in the second quarter, on a scramble-drill play with Sanders. Take note of how Hunter works himself open in the front of the end zone, in perfect sync with his quarterback for the short touchdown:
Of course, it would not be a game from Hunter without one true highlight-reel moment. That came on his third touchdown reception of the game, this effort that comes with Hunter falling in the end zone, with a defender draped all over him:
As Hunter has been known to do, he flashed a Heisman Trophy pose in celebration, perhaps offering an exclamation point on his lengthy closing argument from Boulder this afternoon.
That exclamation point made a little college football history as well:
With the regular season complete, Hunter finishes the year with 82 receptions for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding another rushing touchdown along the way. On the defensive side of the football, the Colorado standout snared four interceptions this season.
At the moment those 11 receiving touchdowns rank Hunter third in all of college football. He is also seventh in the nation in receiving yards, and fifth in receptions.
Will that add up to a Heisman? We will not know for a few more weeks, and Hunter might still get one more chance to impress voters, depending on how other teams in contention for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game fare on Saturday. Colorado can get into the Big 12 Championship Game if results break their way Saturday.
But if this was Hunter’s closing argument, it was as good as it gets.
