Sanders, Buffaloes keep bowl hopes afloat as team 'caught the same bus' in beating No. 14 Houston

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — This was the kind of display Deion Sanders anticipated in September, not close to Thanksgiving: A balanced and explosive offense, coupled with a ball-hounding defense.

For one reason or another — penalties, erratic QB play, more penalties — the pieces haven't always assembled just right for the Colorado coach. That is, until Friday and with Sanders squarely on the hot seat. The Buffaloes (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) remained in the bowl conversation by beating No. 14 Houston in the program's first win over an AP top-15 team in more than 19 years.

“We all caught the same bus,” Sanders summed up.

Sanders was, of course, at the wheel as he tries to avoid a third losing campaign in four seasons at Colorado. He savored the moment, too, which included fans spilling onto the field.

“Wonderful,” he said. “Like we just won the Super Bowl.”

What they earned was a chance over the final two weeks to salvage a season that's been marked by quarterback changes, a carousel of running backs, a five-game skid, a league-leading number of penalties and the hot-seat chatter surrounding their coach. In their 42-32 win over the Cougars, Colorado's top players, the ones Sanders brought in to shine in the bright lights, were front and center all evening. Case in point:

— Tailback Richard Young, the Alabama transfer, rushed for two touchdowns and 99 yards.

— Cornerback Boo Carter, an SEC-level talent who spent time at Tennessee, came up with an opportunistic interception, his first with the Buffaloes.

— Safety Randon Fontenette, who arrived in Boulder by way of TCU and Vanderbilt, with a sack in the third quarter that caused a fumble.

— Receiver Joseph Williams kept up his strong season with a 53-yard TD catch, which was one of four scores of 30 or more yards.

“That’s what we’re indicative of doing when we’re all playing together as one," said Sanders, whose team plays at Cincinnati on Saturday before hosting UCF on Nov. 28 to close out the regular season. "That was one of the challenges: Play for your brother.”

Along with their coach.

“Just coming to the game with ’Coach Prime' — we all want him here," Fontenette said. "I came here for him, to play for him. That’s why I really play hard, because I love playing for ‘Coach Prime.'”

This was the offensive blueprint Sanders envisioned when he brought in coordinator Brennan Marion , the author of the high-octane “Go-Go” scheme. Quarterback Isaac Wilson made the proper reads, especially between the second and third quarters when Colorado scored 28 straight points after falling into a 20-7 deficit. Wilson even shrugged off what appeared to be an ankle injury.

“Isaac is Isaac,” Sanders said. “Isaac’s going to give you some highs, and he’s going to make you say, ‘Darn it!’ a couple times,. But that’s who he is. We love that. He’s a fighter. He’s tough.”

The Buffaloes had 249 yards rushing against Houston, which were the most in the Sanders era. The team converted 10 of 14 third downs, their highest conversion percentage since Sept. 18, 2010, against Hawaii.

“We changed it up a little bit. We opened up the offense a little bit,” Sanders explained. “We showed them different looks that I’m pretty sure they wasn’t ready for, especially at the onset of the game.”

Sanders explained that it boiled down to one key thing: “Timing,” he said.

“They were resilient,” Sanders added. "There’s no quitting in them. That’s nowhere in the vicinity of this team.”

In the chaos after the game, Williams got completely lost inside a sea of fans — and relished it.

"Super-dope,” Williams said. "Our fans always show up and show out for us. When I got to see my teammates in the locker room, we turned up and had a great time.”

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here , visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here