Honestly, if you missed the ku vs colorado football 2024 matchup on November 23, you missed one of those weird, physics-defying afternoons where the "underdog" basically decided they weren't going to let the other team touch the ball. It was Senior Day at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. 56,470 fans showed up. Most expected Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to just... do their thing. Instead, they watched Devin Neal put on a clinic that essentially wrecked Colorado's clear path to the Big 12 Championship.
Kansas won 37-21. It wasn't even as close as that score looks.
The KU vs Colorado football 2024 Blueprint: Keep Shedeur on the Bench
If you want to beat Deion Sanders' Colorado team, the recipe is simple but nearly impossible to execute: don't let them have the ball. KU mastered this. They held the ball for 40 minutes and 11 seconds. That’s two-thirds of the game. Colorado only had 19 minutes and 49 seconds of possession. You can't score if you're standing on the sidelines watching the other team's running back eat up four yards a carry for ten minutes straight.
Devin Neal was the absolute protagonist here. The Lawrence native chose his final home game to go nuclear. 207 rushing yards. Three rushing touchdowns. Oh, and he also caught four passes for 80 yards and another score. He basically outgained the entire Colorado offense by himself for large stretches of the game.
By the Numbers: How the Jayhawks Bullied the Buffs
- Total Yards: Kansas 520, Colorado 308.
- Rushing Yards: Kansas 331, Colorado 42. (This is the stat that matters).
- Plays Run: KU 78, CU 42.
- Punts: Kansas did not punt once. Literally zero times.
What Really Happened With the Colorado Defense?
Coach Prime said it best after the game: "They out-physicalled us." That’s a polite way of saying the Buffaloes' defense looked lost. They missed 11 tackles in just the first three Kansas possessions. It was uncharacteristic for a Colorado team that had been playing much better defense in the weeks prior.
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Kansas didn't do anything fancy. They just ran the ball. Then they ran it again. Jalon Daniels was efficient, going 14-for-21 for 189 yards, but he mostly just had to keep the chains moving while Neal and Sevion Morrison punished the defensive front.
Colorado uncharacteristically missed tackles on seemingly every Kansas possession. It was the most points and most total yards given up by Colorado all season.
The Travis Hunter Factor
You can't talk about ku vs colorado football 2024 without mentioning Travis Hunter. Even in a loss, he was spectacular. He caught 8 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. His 51-yard score in the second quarter was a reminder that he’s probably the most talented person on any field he walks onto. But as great as he is, he couldn't play every position on defense, and that's where the Jayhawks found the soft spots.
Key Moments That Swung the Game
The game started with a 51-yard swing pass from Daniels to Neal. 7-0 Kansas.
Colorado went three-and-out.
Then Kansas went on a 13-play, 61-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock.
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This was the pattern. Even when Colorado fought back—and they did, cutting the lead to 23-21 early in the third quarter—Kansas had an answer. After Hunter’s second TD catch made it a two-point game, KU just marched 80 yards in 10 plays. They decided to stop throwing in the red zone and just let Neal hammer it in from the one.
The knockout blow was an eight-minute drive in the fourth quarter. It felt like an eternity. By the time Neal scored his final touchdown to make it 37-21 with 11:47 left, the Buffaloes looked gassed.
Why This Game Was Historically Weird for Kansas
This wasn't just another win. It was the third straight victory over a ranked opponent for Lance Leipold’s squad. They’d already knocked off No. 17 Iowa State and No. 6 BYU. Beating No. 16 Colorado made it three in a row—the first time in the history of the Kansas program that they had defeated three ranked foes in a single season.
It also made Devin Neal the first player in Kansas history with three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He finished the game with 287 total yards of offense. Basically, he was playing a video game on "Rookie" difficulty while everyone else was on "All-American."
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Actionable Insights from the KU vs Colorado football 2024 Matchup
If you're looking back at this game for betting trends or just to understand Big 12 dynamics, here are the takeaways:
- Time of Possession is King: If a team can run for 300+ yards against a "flashy" offense, the flashy offense loses its rhythm. Colorado’s 42 offensive plays were their fewest of the season.
- The "Arrowhead" Effect: KU playing their "home" games in Kansas City while Memorial Stadium was under renovation actually created a massive pro-KU environment that felt like a neutral-site bowl game.
- The Blueprint to Stop Prime: You don't "stop" Shedeur Sanders—he still threw for 266 yards and 3 TDs with zero picks. You stop him by making sure he never gets the ball back.
Kansas proved that a physical offensive line and a generational running back can still dismantle a "modern" pass-heavy roster. They moved to 5-6 with this win, keeping their bowl hopes alive, while Colorado’s march to the Big 12 title game hit a massive, Lawrence-shaped speed bump.
If you’re watching Big 12 football next season, watch the trenches. Colorado has the stars, but Kansas showed that being "physical" still wins games in November.