Some things were expected.

Big numbers from Shedeur Sanders. Eye-popping highlights from Travis Hunter. Assorted big plays from a talented array of receivers. Maybe even a few dynamic defensive returns from the play-makers in the secondary.

But these Colorado Buffaloes were never tabbed as the schoolyard bullies. The tough guys who answer every shot with powerful haymakers of their own. Even in good times, this was supposed to be a finesse team, one that might be able to beat you up on the scoreboard but certainly not in the trenches.

That’s not the story anymore. And that’s why a special season is there for the taking for head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs.

The surge up the Big 12 Conference standings as well as the College Football Playoff picture continued on Saturday for the Buffs, who didn’t flinch after a nightmare start and went on to pummel Texas Tech into submission on the Red Raiders’ turf, posting a 41-27 victory that put the Buffs squarely in control of their own destiny in the pursuit of a berth in the Big 12 title game.

And, possibly, beyond.

Thanks to Iowa State’s loss at Kansas, CU remains the only one-loss team within Big 12 play behind unbeaten BYU (heading into the Cougars’ Holy War battle at Utah late Saturday night). Win out, and the Buffs head to Dallas for the title game on Dec. 7, and none of the remaining games appear nearly as formidable as Saturday’s date in Lubbock, where the tough-guy Buffs won going away.

What has turned the Buffs from a fun team to watch but one short on gumption into one that routinely walks into the opposition’s house to wreak havoc begins, as most things do in football, up front. The offensive line no longer is a sieve in pass protection and is delivering punishment in the run game. The turnaround has been even more dramatic on the defensive side. Not because the Buffs didn’t bring more talent to the equation this season — CU had fewer but equally critical questions along the defensive front — but because the unit isn’t merely getting the job done. The defense has become dominant.

Texas Tech star running back Tahj Brooks broke the program’s all-time rushing record and finished with 137 yards, but the Buffs made him work so brutally for every inch that Brooks likely has a few ice baths in his near future.

The Buffs held the highest-scoring team in the conference to 13 first-half points, turned three turnovers into 10 points, and recorded six sacks from four different players.

The defense will never be the strength of a team with Shedeur Sanders leading the offense. But the gap is closing fast.

The Buffs have three games remaining, with two at home, against arguably the three most disappointing teams in the Big 12. If anyone has learned anything from the Big 12 this season, it’s that no matchup should be taken for granted. But the Buffs “should” keep rolling right into the Big 12 title game. Utah has no offense, unless it finds a miracle cure in the late-night Holy War battle with BYU on Saturday. Kansas stunned Iowa State on Saturday, but the Jayhawks still are just 3-6 after being picked fourth in the preseason Big 12 coaches’ poll. Same with Oklahoma State, which was picked third but began the weekend winless in Big 12 play.

With Shedeur Sanders slinging from a mostly clean pocket, and Hunter and friends running loose in opposing secondaries, the Buffs can outscore anyone they line up against the rest of the way.

With the defense bringing the noise, the Buffs are turning into a team that can beat opponents into submission.

It’s a combination that felt unreachable in November of 2022, when the Buffs were limping to the finish line of a one-win season. It took just 23 months on the job for Deion Sanders to make November football fun again in Boulder.