Colorado did all it could to help USC in the first half with turnovers, penalties and mental mistakes. Going into halftime trailing 34-14 it appeared it was going to be a long second half with the same effort. But the second half was an entirely different ballgame with CU outscoring USC 27-14 after halftime.
Shedeur Sanders led the daring comeback going head to head with the defending Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Sanders held his own against Williams statistically with the Heisman winner just edging out the former Jackson State star. Sanders was 30-45 passing for 371 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Williams was 30-40 for 403 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
The story of the game moving forward for Colorado was the emergence of wide receiver Omarion Miller. The freshman got his first extensive action of the season and he didn’t disappoint. He led all receivers with seven catches for 196 yards and a touchdown. After trailing 48-21 late in the third quarter, Colorado scored three consecutive touchdowns to bring serious doubt into the hearts of the USC faithful.
Sanders connected on touchdown passes to Michael Harrison, Miller and Jimmy Horn Jr. to make it a one score game. Former Jackson State player Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig became the first player this season to intercept Williams, picking him off in the first half. The Colorado defense was without Travis Hunter and Shilo Sanders, both players transferred to CU when Deion Sanders accepted the head coaching job there. Silmon-Craig now has two interceptions this season.
Brenden Rice, the son of Jerry Rice, led the USC receivers with two touchdowns. Rice was a former player at Colorado. His father, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, played collegiately at Mississippi Valley State University.
Colorado plays next weekend at Arizona State.
