BOULDER — Kaidon Salter finally laughed last. Pat Shurmur finally rolled the dice. And CU finally pulled out a close game, at home, against a ranked team.
The Buffs’ frustrating 2025 has life again. Life, a wild, field-storming victory, and a postseason purpose after a 24-17 win over No. 22 Iowa State at Folsom Field.
It’s also got a highlight. A moment.
With 1:47 left in a seven-point game, CU faced a third-and-16 at its 29-yard line. You give the ball back to Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, and anything could happen. Georgia Tech proved that. So did BYU.
Buffs coach Deion Sanders and Shurmur, his offensive coordinator and play-caller, didn’t give the Cyclones that chance.
Salter dropped back and found wide receiver Joseph Williams streaking open over the middle of the field. The Buffs quarterback nailed Williams in stride for a 38-yard gain to the Iowa State 33, and that was that.
Gutsy call. Relaxed, confident throw. Trust. Trust all around.
It was Salter’s 16th completion of the day. A day that began with the student section at Folsom chanting — “We want Ju Ju!” — for his replacement, freshman QB Julian Lewis, ended with those same students looking to carry him off the field.
Strange game. Strange afternoon. Saturday gave us a little bit of everything — even sunshine, eventually.
Want big stops? CU gave the faithful two massive ones.
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The Buffs and Cyclones traded touchdowns on the first three possessions of the third quarter before CU safety Tawfiq Byard made a stop in his own end zone with the Buffs up 21-17. On a third-and-goal 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, the CU defensive back leapt high to pluck a Becht pass out of the air, returning it 18 yards the other way.
Want explosion plays? Salter missed on the usual short stuff, but the home runs left his hands with all kinds of exit velocity.
On CU’s second play of the second half, No. 3 dropped back on second-and-7 and lofted a rainbow to a wide-open Omarion Miller, who walked into the end zone from 70 yards out to give the hosts a 13-10 lead before the extra point.
Trailing 17-14 with 9:17 left in the third stanza, Salter went to work again after a Cyclones penalty and a 30-kick return gave him a short field. The Buffs senior completed four out of five throws, scrambled for a 13-yard pickup, and converted two third downs, capping a 52-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Willians in the back of the end zone.
It was a surreal end to a game that started with something of a Halloween vibe, in that it felt as if it was played almost entirely in CU’s coffin corner. The Buffs’ first three possessions started at their own 5, their own 13 and their own 10.
The hosts marched 90 yards against Iowa State’s 3-3-5 base on the third series, thanks to a 14-yard Joseph Williams catch to the CU 23 that had initially been ruled a trap, and a 24-yard Salter keeper up to midfield. A hold of Omarion Miller in the end zone elicited a 15-yard flag to the Iowa State 13.
CU broke through five plays later from the ISU 8 when Micah Welch found an open lane wide right, with Jordan Seaton pulling all the way out from left tackle to lead him for an untouched score and a 6-0 lead before the extra point.
The rose had thorns, too. On third-and-5 from his own 25 with 10:55 left in the second quarter, Salter whiffed on an open Zach Atkins. On the Buffs’ next possession, he misfired on a throwback screen to the right that was off from the jump, even though it had a phalanx of linemen waiting to form a convoy.
Shurmur went into turtle mode awfully early after that big fourth-down stop gifted his offense the ball at the Cyclones’ 18. The Buffs ran it three times to kick, taking only 1:54 off the clock rather than going for the final nail, letting Alejandro Mata kick a 29-yard chippie for a 24-17 cushion.
Turns out that was enough.
And more than enough to start the party.
“PLEASE CLEAR THE FIELD, PLEASE CLEAR THE FIELD,” the public address announcer begged the students as they raced onto the artificial turf. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.”
Trust is a two-way street. And the Buffs dance into the bye with a season that’s on the road to somewhere again.
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