10 Takeaways: Week Nine

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1. This Louis Luggage ain't fake

What, you thought I was starting anywhere else? Colorado went 1-11 in 2022. Their defense gave up the most points per game in the country (44.5), while the offense scored the fifth fewest (15.4). That team was arguably worst in program history, and you can make a strong argument that they had the bleakest outlook among any Power Five team at the time. Less than two full years later, Deion Sanders has them 6-2 and legitimately in the hunt for the Big 12 Title Game.

Colorado beat Cincinnati 34-23 to become bowl eligible in a full season –AKA non-COVID– for the first time since 2016, thanks to the usual suspects. Travis Hunter played 132 out of 135 offensive/defensive snaps, had nine catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and broke up four passes with two tackles. Shedeur Sanders went a crisp 25/30 for 323 yards and three total TD. They'll always have a chance when those two play like that, but what's taken the Buffs to the next level are the contributions from across the roster.

Their run game is still far from spectacular, but they've now run for over 100-plus yards in back-to-back games for the first time in the Deion Sanders era. You're probably laughing at that, but it's real progress! Making defenses at least respect that they can (and will) run has taken the pressure off Shedeur to be perfect, and you can see that the line is starting to gel:

Meanwhile, the defense that got constantly shredded last season has taken major steps forward. They held Cincinnati to a combined 4-13 on third/fourth downs, only allowed 6 yards per passing attempt, and have now given up just 53 second-half points in eight games. They're top-30 nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss! They also might be the hardest-hitting defense in the country, in my extremely biased opinion.

Special teams is doing their part, too, as kicker Alejandro Mata snuck a 47-yarder just over the crossbar to seal the win:

You can hate it all you want. You can say they haven't played anyone, or whatever else you need to do to make yourself think that a drastic turnaround in this short a time span isn't top-tier coaching work from Deion Sanders. There are certain teams/coaches/players I don't like giving credit to either - I get it! But it'll be November in five days, and the reality is that Colorado's 6-2 with a shot at making the Big 12 Championship. It's a tough time to be a hater, and a great time to be a Buffs fan.

2. [Begrudgingly] Praise for Texas A&M

Texas A&M is an easy program to rag on. For as much attention as they get, they haven't played for a conference championship since 1998, have one double-digit win season since 2000 (2012), and the Jimbo Fisher buyout is still fresh in everyone's mind. But even I'll admit that Mike Elko's bringing a very real swagger to the Aggies:

A&M turned a 17-7 halftime deficit into a 38-23 smacking of LSU behind backup QB Marcel Reed taking the reigns from starter Connor Weigman in the second half and engineering four-straight touchdown drives. Reed went 2/2 passing for 70 yards, but also ran nine times for 62, scoring three times:

Reed's started –and played well– in three games this season, so it's not like he was an unknown. In reality, he's A&M's best QB! This apparently wasn't a reality LSU prepared for:

Reed wasn't the only thing LSU didn't look prepared for, either:

A&M now has convincing wins over Missouri and LSU, and still has Texas at home to close out the season. Their only loss is to Notre Dame, and they'll be favored in their other three games against South Carolina, Auburn, and New Mexico State. They've got a great shot at making the playoff in Elko's first season, and it'll be deserved if they do.

3. A heavyweight bout in Las Vegas

Friend of the site Patrick Mayhorn put Boise State-UNLV into wonderful perspective as it happened:

Boise held on for a 29-24 road win, cementing themselves in the Mountain West drivers seat. My main takeaway here is that Boise proved they can win a game like this without Ashton Jeanty having to do everything. UNLV held him to "just" 128 yards on 33 carries, forcing the Broncos to get contributions from across the board to win. Quarterback Maddux Madsen's numbers weren't jaw-dropping –18/33, 209 yards, one touchdown– but he didn't turn the ball over, plus added 58 yards rushing and a TD. Their defense did well enough in limiting explosive plays, even though I think UNLV left some meat on the bone offensively. Either way, it was a game more than worthy of the stakes, and I hope we see a rematch in the Mountain West Championship.