Colorado's Travis Hunter injured his shoulder in the game against Kansas State

BOULDER, Colo. – Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter sat out the Buffaloes' 31-28 loss to No. 18 Kansas State on Saturday night because of a right shoulder injury and did not return.

Hunter, a Heisman Trophy contender, appeared to have suffered the injury on a hit by Kansas State safety Daniel Cobbs after a 14-yard reception in the second quarter. Hunter went to the locker room to have the injury assessed and returned to the sideline at the start of the third quarter.

Head coach Deion Sanders did not provide an update on Hunter's injury afterward and said there was no discussion in the second half about Hunter's return to the game.

Hunter, a preseason All-American and projected first-round NFL draft pick, leads the Buffaloes with 587 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 49 catches. He also has 17 tackles, three pass breakups and two interceptions on defense. In the first half, he played 23 snaps on offense and 21 on defense, recording three catches for 26 yards plus one tackle.

Hunter was one of four Buffs wide receivers who missed Saturday's game due to injury. Jimmy Horn Jr., the team's second-leading receiver with 347 yards this season, left in the second quarter with an unspecified injury. Omarion Miller managed a team-high 145 receiving yards on eight catches, but was also sidelined due to injury, as was Terrell Timmons Jr.

“The loss of Travis, Jimmy and others was certainly tremendous because they are an important part of our team, an important part of our identity,” Sanders said. “They are an essential part of us. That was a setback. That demanded a lot from us.”

Despite these setbacks, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 388 yards and three touchdowns on 34 of 40 passing and led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to help the Buffs rally from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and take them into the right position to put the program's first home win against an AP Top 25 opponent since 2019.

Redshirt freshman Colton Hood replaced Hunter at cornerback and made a game-changing play late in the fourth quarter. Kansas State, leading by three points with 4:07 left, opted for fourth-and-six from Colorado's 31-yard line. Avery Johnson's pass was deflected and intercepted by Hood, who returned it 59 yards. Two plays later, Shedeur Sanders connected with LaJohntay Wester for an 11-yard touchdown to take the lead.

Kansas State took the lead back in just three plays, with a 34-yard catch-and-run from DJ Giddens, immediately followed by a 50-yard touchdown from Johnson to Jayce Brown. Giddens accounted for 220 yards from scrimmage.

Shedeur Sanders had another chance to lead a winning drive, but was stopped in the fourth when a deep pass to Will Sheppard fell incomplete and the officials did not call a defensive pass interference.

“I don’t know what happened in the end,” Deion Sanders said. “It looked to me like it was a pass interference. But it was hard. I didn’t want to end up like that.”

Deion Sanders said he hopes to have Hunter and the Buffaloes' injured players back soon but wouldn't rush them. The 4-2 Buffaloes are on the road next Saturday to face 3-3 Arizona.

“Sometimes when you lose in life, you get kicked in the butt and you just have to take it,” he said. “But sometimes you lose and you say, ‘Damn, we should have won that. We should have had that.' And it was one of those games that doesn't take anything away from our opponent because they're in the locker room right now and they deserve it. We just felt like we forgot about it.”