Sealing the deal: CU had pulled within 23-21 early in the third quarter, but Kansas responded with a touchdown drive. The Jayhawks then forced a three-and-out by the CU offense and followed that with another touchdown, putting the game out of reach.

Turning point: This was Kansas’ game from the start, so the turning point came very early. KU set the tone with a 73-yard touchdown drive to open the game and stormed out to a 17-0 lead in the first 21 minutes.

Quotable: “That just wasn’t us today, man,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said. “Make no bones about it. They forced us into some situations that were tremendous. They did a great job. They had some trickery involved in certain things, and the timing of them was impeccable. We just didn’t do our job.”

BuffZone game balls

Offense: QB Shedeur Sanders. He had an efficient game, going 23-for-29 for 266 yards and three touchdowns. Along the way, he set CU’s single-season passing TD record, with 30.

Defense: DE Keaten Wade. It was a rough game overall for the defense, but Wade was solid, finishing with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Special teams: P Mark Vassett. He only punted twice but averaged 53.5 yards. He was consistent, too, with punts of 54 and 53 yards.