Colorado can put together season to remember in final month

Buffs looking to win out last four game and see how everything shakes out

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

News and notes as the 23rd-ranked Colorado Buffaloes enjoy a well-deserved break before launching into the regular season’s final four games.

The schedule has worked well for Coach Prime’s second team. Play five games, win four and take a break. Play three more, win two and another break. After eight games, like all college teams, the Buffs have their fair share of aches and pains. We know Heisman candidate Travis Hunter is banged up. Same for Colorado’s other award-worthy standout, quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

A week to rest and recover comes at an ideal time before the Buffs close the season with road games at Texas Tech and Kansas and Folsom Field encounters against Utah and Oklahoma State. Barring injuries or a sudden collapse, Colorado should be favored to win all four.

Colorado's 34–23 win over Cincinnati pushed the Buffaloes to 6–2, making the school bowl eligible for the first time under Sanders. The Buffs currently sit in fourth place in the balanced Big 12 and are still in the mix - many breaks must fall their way - for a spot in the conference championship game where a win seals an automatic birth in the inaugural season of the 12-team playoff. Long-suffering CU fans, do you believe in miracles?

Watching the post-game reaction in the Buffs locker room following the Cincinnati win sparked memories of the 1989 season when the Buffs ran the regular-season table before losing to Notre Dame for the national championship in the Orange Bowl. Why? Images of Prime calling Buff super fan Peggy Coppom. The 99-year-old has been a fixture at CU football and basketball games for more than eight decades. Coppom’s twin sister, Betty Hoover was always by her side before passing in 2020.

Colorado Buffaloes Football Bowl Game history through the decades

Sanders was celebrating the victory with Coppom and instructed the team to shout, “We love you Peggy” into the phone. Sanders has helped turn the former flight attendant into a national celebrity including the first-ever NIL deal for a fan. The 2024 Buffaloes are playing for one another but they have a special place in their hearts for the one and only Coppom.

Your correspondent did several stories on the twins during years covering the Buffs for CBSColorado, long ago, the “Home of the Buffs.” Her grandson, Sean Coppom, has become a good friend and helped produce an event called, “Coach Mac’s Feast and Fix.” Anybody remember? Back when Jon Embree was coach in 2011-12, Coach Mac and yours truly would co-host a weekly event for Buff faithful.

We started at Pasta Jay’s, outgrew the space, shifted to Gebhardt Motors, then the old practice bubble before culminating with a grand event before thousands at the First Bank Center in Broomfield. “Feast and Fix” might have been the highlight of Embree’s tenure as Colorado struggled with only four wins under the former Buff and NFL tight end, now an assistant with the Dolphins.
Any mention of “Feast and Fix” would not be complete without a shout out to Jay Elowsky, Pasta Jay’s owner. The long-time meal provider for the Buffs footed the bill for delicious food at every stop. Pasta, thanks for your unwavering devotion to CU athletics.

After the win over the Bearcats, the huge scoreboard at the south end of Folsom displayed, “Peggy’s going bowling!” Yes she is, along with other diehard Buff fans who have endured a long drought of successful football at the foot of the Flatirons. The death of starting quarterback Sal Aunese inspired the ’89 team. Apparently, creating a special season for the beloved Coppom is motivating Coach Prime’s team. Whatever it takes, just win baby.

Texas Tech does not have a week off. The Red Raiders play at No. 11 and undefeated Iowa State. Third-year coach Joey McGuire has an interesting team. The lads from Lubbock are the Big 12’s highest-scoring team but also the worst team defensively in points allowed.

The Buffs are stampeding. Do it for Sal, Peggy or themselves. Just keep believing in the wonderment of many coming together as one. Shoulder to shoulder in what could be a season to remember.