By Aniket Prabhu
University of Colorado Season Kickoff at Folsom Field(Lily Wright | Radio 1190 News)
1st Quarter 13:47: Defensive Pass Interference on #8 Nickelback DJ McKinney results in an automatic 1st down on 3rd and 7 (Not a spot foul because >15 yard pass attempt.
1st Quarter 12:44: Incomplete pass by Kaden Anderson on a screen play to Charlie Coenen.
1st Quarter 12:34: Bart Edmison punts for 36 yards. Interference called on Wyoming.
1st Quarter 11:30: Kaidon Salter scrambles up the middle on 3rd down & 8 for 17 yards up to the Wyoming 46 yard line to avoid a 3 & out.
1st Quarter 10:11: On 2nd & 6 at the Wyoming 42, #3 Quarterback Kaidon Salter drops out of the pocket and scrambles left to the sideline but is cornered for a loss of 14 yards.
CU Timeout #1 (9:34)
1st Quarter 9:22: Kaidon Salter throws a checkdown to #4 Wide Receiver Omarion Miller, who weaves past a few defenders but is eventually brought down for a gain of 10, resulting in 4th & 10.
TV Timeout
1st Quarter 7:19: A pair of strong shutdowns of Terron Kellman for losses of -3 yards results in 3rd & 16 at the Wyoming 14, but defensive pass interference by Cornerback Preston Hodge results in an automatic first down.
30 Second Timeout
1st Quarter 6:34: Pass Interference on Preston Hodge once again gives Wyoming life on 3rd & 7 at the Wyoming 27 up to the Wyoming 35 yard line.
1st Quarter 5:49: Wyoming opts to run it with Running Back #26 Samuel Harris on 3rd &5 up the gut at the Wyoming 40, but comes up 2 yards short, resulting in a Wyoming 42-yard punt fair caught by Dekalon Taylor at the 15-yard line.
TV Timeout
1st Quarter 4:21: Kaidon Salter scrambles right and delivers a dot to Omarion Miller for a gain of 18 yards on 2nd & 6 up to the Colorado 37
1st Quarter 2:55: Kaidon Salter plows through on a quick Quarterback sneak during 3rd & 1 at the Colorado 46 for 2 yards and a Colorado first down.
1st Quarter 1:45: Kaidon Salter finds a hole when the pocket collapsed on 2nd & 11 at the Colorado 47, sprinting out of bounds to the Colorado sideline for exactly the line to gain.
1st Quarter 0:00: On 3rd & 6 at the Wyoming 38, Kaidon Salter finds an open Wide Receiver in #6 Dre’lon Miller, who corrals a low ball through a diving catch for 9 yards and a CU first down.
End of 1st Quarter
2nd Quarter 14:12: Omarion Miller seamlessly gets past his defender on a go route for a turnaround go-ahead Touchdown catch thrown by Kaidon Salter for 29 yards on 3rd & 10 CU 6-0
2nd Quarter 14:12: PK #16 Alejandro Mata PAT is good. CU up 7-0
TV Timeout
2nd Quarter 14:05: After a touchback on the kickoff, Outside Lineback #53 Arden Walker sacks #12 Quarterback Kaden Anderson for a loss of 9 yards on 1st and 10 from the Wyoming 25.
2nd Quarter 13:31: On 2nd &16, Samuel Harris gets all that and plenty more on a 50-yard dash up the left guard onto the Colorado 34 for a 1st down, brought down by McKinney to stop a touchdown.
2nd Quarter 11:21: Kaden Anderson finds 2-way Wide Receiver #22 Jaden DaCosta on 2nd & 8 at the Colorado 21 for a gain of 13, resulting in 1st & goal from the 8.
CU Timeout #2 (9:47)
2nd Quarter 9:42: 29-yard Field Goal for Wyoming on 4th & goal from the 11 is good. 7-3 CU
2nd Quarter 7:37: Kaidon Salter lofts a perfect ball to #9 flashy receiver Sincere Brown, who changes his route to receive it at the Wyoming 40 and takes it all the way to the house for a CU Touchdown. 13-3 CU
2nd Quarter 7:37: Alejandro Mata PAT is good. 14-3 CU
2nd Quarter 6:58: Drops are starting to accumulate and cost Wyoming greatly as Tight End #80 Justin Herb drops a pass which would’ve definitely resulted in a 1st down if caught, but instead is 3rd & 10 still at the Wyoming 25 yard line.
2nd Quarter 6:00: Wyoming Punt on 4th & 9 after a holding penalty stalls their drive.
CU Timeout #3 (3:40)
2nd Quarter 3:40: Colorado strings together a few good passes to get the ball up to the Wyoming 35, but opts to go for it on 4th & 7 since it’s just outside Alejandro’s Mata range and converts it thanks to a Defensive Pass Interference committed in the endzone, with the deep shot targeted for Omarion Miller.
2nd Quarter 3:20: Kaidon Salter delivers a dart to the chest of Omarion Miller on a slant route, who then jukes a couple of defenders all the way down to the Wyoming 1-yard line for a gain of 19 on 1st & 10.
2nd Quarter 3:08: Simeon Price up the middle off the shotgun formation for a gain of 1 yard and a CU Touchdown. 20-3 CU
2nd Quarter 3:08: PAT is good by Alejandro Mata. 21-3 CU
2 Minute Timeout
2nd Quarter 1:26 Wyoming Punts after a failed drive despite an Evan Svoboda 27-yard catch and run by the volatile Tight End.
2nd Quarter 0:20: CU unable to get anything going punts right back to Wyoming
2nd Quarter 0:09: Kaden Anderson kneels it into the half.
HALFTIME CU UP 21-3 OVER WYOMING
3rd Quarter 13:55: Kaidon Salter comes storming out of the half with a 20-yard rush downfield, shortly followed by a 47-yard long ball on a fly route to Sophomore Receiver #8 Joseph Williams. 27-3 CU
3rd Quarter 13:55: PAT by Mata is good. 28-3 CU
3rd Quarter 12:33: Wyoming avoids a 3 and out through the form of a Roughing the Passer penalty by DL #92 Anquin Barnes Jr., which is then reviewed and upgraded to targeting, which disqualifies him for the rest of the competition.
3rd Quarter 12:33: Backup Running Back for CU, Simeon Price, is seen gingerly walking to the locker room in a boot.
3rd Quarter 12:25: Kaden Anderson finds a wide-open receiver in #2 Eric Richardson for his first catch along the sidelines, tackled eventually into the endzone for a Wyoming Touchdown. 28-9 CU
3rd Quarter 12:25: Wyoming PAT is good. 28-10 CU
3rd Quarter 12:15: Quentin Gibson has an immediate response in an electrifying kickoff return for 46 yards to the Colorado 46, setting up good field position for the Offense.
3rd Quarter 9:55: 40-yard punt by Australian Native Punter #35 Damon Greaves to down Wyoming at their own 8-yard line.
3rd Quarter 8:30: Kaden Anderson shows off his arm with a perfect pass across lanes of traffic to Receiver #13 Chris Durr Jr. for a total of 32 yards into Colorado territory (47) on 1st & 10 at their own 21.
3rd Quarter 3:30: Wyoming continues to utilize the ground and pound strategy but succumbs at the Colorado 19 and has to settle for a 38-yard field goal made by Kicker #47 Erik Sandvik. 10 unanswered by Wyoming, 28-13 CU
3rd Quarter 2:27: Kaidon Salter connects with #5 Hykeem Williams on consecutive screens for 17 yards up to the Colorado 49.
3rd Quarter 1:11: Running Back #29 Micah Welch finds green grass in a burst upfield, but gets stripped from behind with the ball subsequently being recovered by Wyoming at their own 1-yard line.
4th Quarter 14:55: Uncovered Arden Walker claims his 2nd sack in the form of a Safety, Kaden Andersen didn’t see it coming whatsoever on 3rd & 8 from their own 3. 30-13 CU
4th Quarter 11:21: DL #90 Aneesh Vyas blocks a 34-yard field goal attempt by Alejandro Mata.
4th Quarter 7:33: Wyoming continues to go run heavy, slowly but surely making its way closer to the endzone with a #26 Samuel Harris carry for 16 yards to the Colorado 45 despite it being 1st & 15.
4th Quarter 6:48: Kade Anderson pass complete to Sam Scott for 23 yards to the Colorado 22 following the big run play.
4th Quarter 4:32: On 3rd & goal at the 7, Chris Durr Jr. somehow hangs onto a heavily contested catch between 2 defenders for a Touchdown. 30-19 CU
4th Quarter 4:32: PAT is good. 30-20 CU
4th Quarter 1:46: Kaidon Salter on a read option tricks everybody and takes it to the house 35 yards to seal the game for Colorado. 36-20 CU
4th Quarter 1:46: PAT is good. 37-20 CU.
4th Quarter 1:42: Backups in for both sides, Wyoming looks to run the clock out.
FINAL SCORE 37-20 CU WINS
[Postgame]: Deion Sanders exclaims that he is happy about the result but not ecstatic about the ending claiming the players got too “hee hee ha ha” in putting the game away, regarding a couple of sloppy possessions where they should’ve come away with points referring to the Micah Welch fumble and blocked field goal that gave life to a Wyoming team that was hungry. There was a lot of talk revolving around the Quarterback situation coming into tonight’s affair, and when brought up, he said: “That’s the guy. That’s the guy we want to see”. Deion says that there were a couple of downs for Salter tonight, but overall, he played great and put the game away with an unexpected surge up the middle for a touchdown, and that naturally, blame gets assessed to Salter since he’s the face of the team as the Quarterback. It’ll be safe to say Salter will be starting next Saturday Night, barring injury. vs BYU as CU looks to even out their interconference record at Folsom Field. In Salter’s presser, he remarked that he “just wants to be the best version,” knowing that it’s his final collegiate year. He said that he was “most definitely” fired up as a competitor after getting benched last week, but just talked to god and his family, to motivate him to make the most of this moment. He wants to make good reads to avoid turnovers and make all his passes 75-25 balls instead of tightly contested balls. The overall theme of the pressers was reiterated over and over again that they did good but could do better, with standout Outside Linebacker Arden Walker, who played a pivotal role in keeping the game far enough away from Wyoming in creating a safety talking about how they’ll take from this experience of letting loose a little when the game seemed out of reach to always playing with high levels of intensity, taking all opponents as serious threats.