BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders threw a pair of touchdown passes to Travis Hunter and ran for a score to help Colorado become bowl-eligible with a 34-23 win over Cincinnati on Saturday night.
Sanders put on quite an efficient aerial show, completing 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards. He completed his first 15 passes, which was the most to start a game in program history. Not bad considering he's getting over the flu.
Hunter had nine catches for 153 yards, including a 34-yard TD grab with three seconds left before halftime. On defense, the two-way star and Heisman hopeful broke up four passes.
“Travis is the best football player in the country,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “We all know that. Why are we even deliberating over that?”
The Buffaloes (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) are eligible for a bowl game over a full season for the first time since 2016. They also went to a bowl game in 2020 during the COVID-shortened year. It's been quite a turnaround for Colorado in Year 2 under Sanders. The team finished 4-8 a year ago after a fast start.
“We’re on a wonderful journey,” the Buffaloes coach said. “We know the direction we’re going."
The first call Sanders made after the win was to Peggy Coppom, the Buffaloes super-fan who turns 100 next month. She's been a rallying point for Sanders — to get her to a bowl game.
“Now we want to make sure she goes to the best possible bowl that she could possibly go to,” Sanders said.
Colorado took a 31-14 lead with 5:41 left in the third quarter on a 7-yard run by Isaiah Augustave. Shedeur Sanders, though, appeared to be walking gingerly along the sideline shortly after the drive. He spent time on the stationary bike when the defense was on the field.
The Bearcats (5-3, 3-2) trimmed the deficit to 31-23 with 3:51 remaining when Brendan Sorsby connected with tight end Joe Royer for a 6-yard TD. They tried for two points and couldn't convert.
Pinned deep after the kickoff, Sanders went for broke and completed a 34-yard pass to Hunter. The drive led to Alejandro Mata's game-sealing 47-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining.
“Each win,” Shedeur Sanders said, “definitely gives us a confidence boost.”
Now, the Buffaloes could be looking at an appearance in the polls. Deion Sanders would rather not see that happen.
“Don't rank us, please,” Sanders said. “We don't like that. We'd rather be in the back in the dark, just chillin'.”
Sorsby finished with 180 yards passing and two touchdowns.
“I don’t think any guy on the sideline ever lost hope,” Sorsby said. “That's a credit to this team and this staff.”
The game changed complexion just before halftime when Colorado's defense stuffed Sorsby on fourth-and-1 at the 46 with 33 seconds left. It led to Sanders finding a wide-open Hunter to give Colorado a 24-14 lead at the break.
“That momentum swing right before halftime was huge, obviously, in their favor,” Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield said. “Just obviously disappointed in the loss, not playing great.”
The Buffaloes committed three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, including one on safety Shilo Sanders in the fourth quarter that briefly landed him on the bench. There was another on Jimmy Horn Jr. early in the game. He hauled in a pass from Sanders and raced 57 yards for what would’ve been a first-quarter touchdown, but as he passed by a Cincinnati defensive back he flashed a “peace” sign. It drew a flag and negated the score.
Hunter bailed out his fellow receiver with a 3-yard TD catch.
At one point, Deion Sanders implored the fans over the public address system to not throw anything on the field. He reiterated that point after the game.
“The people doing that, you're better than that,” Sanders said.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats defense struggled to get consistent pressure on Sanders and sacked him just once.
Colorado: The Buffaloes looked snazzy wearing their all-gray uniforms with white helmets. They found some traction on the ground, too, rushing for 123 yards.
Cincinnati: A week break before hosting West Virginia on Nov. 9.
Colorado: The Buffaloes will have a second bye week before playing at Texas Tech on Nov. 9.
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Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter, right, pulls in a pass as Cincinnati cornerback Ormanie Arnold defends in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, front, is run out of play after a short gain by Colorado defensive end BJ Green II in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
