TUCSON, Ariz. >> Colorado head coach Deion Sanders knows as well as anyone how to work a room and read his audience, so he knew exactly what former President Barack Obama was doing on Friday night.

Speaking in Tucson at a rally for presidential candidate Kamala Harris, President Obama told the audience, “I know Colorado’s got a couple good players, but I also know you guys have beaten them twice in a row, so don’t bet against the Wildcats tomorrow!”

Those who bet against the Wildcats are feeling pretty good today, after the Buffaloes routed Arizona 34-7 on Saturday at Arizona Stadium.

CU (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) snapped a two-game skid to Arizona and has reached the five-win mark for the first time in five years, and of course, Coach Prime saw the clip from Obama’s speech.

“President Obama is everything to me. I mean, I love him, I admire him, I respect him tremendously, but I heard what he said,” Coach Prime said to laughter in the press conference before looking directly at a camera and addressing the former president.

“President, I heard what you said, man. Like, come on, come on. That’s why I really don’t get into politics. I’m into people because politicians, they play the political game and he was here and had to play the political game. Said, ‘They have two good players.’ We have more than two good players, but you here, so you had to support that. And what’d he say? They won the last three meetings and two meetings, something like that. He did his homework. Somebody gave him some great statistics. But President, come on man; you my man. I love you. I appreciate you. But come on, dawg. God bless you. I still love you.”

There’s no debating Coach Prime’s claim that the Buffs have more than two good players, especially when one of the elite players Obama was referring to — CU star cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter — barely played in the Buffaloes’ dismantling of the reeling Wildcats (3-4, 1-3).

Shedeur Sanders threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, the run game produced 148 yards on the ground, and the defense was dominant, producing a season-high seven sacks.

“Great feeling after last week,” receiver Will Sheppard said, referring to CU’s 31-28 loss to Kansas State a week ago. “We really emphasized starting fast and balled out, scoring 28 points in the first half, pretty much sealing the deal early. That’s what we went out and did.”

Arizona tried to start fast with a surprise tactic, booting an onside kick on the opening kickoff. Rather than catching the Buffs off guard, CU recovered and had the ball for a short field to begin the game.

“I mean, it’s kind of disrespectful too,” Coach Prime said. “To start it off like that is like, we gonna get an onsides kick because you’re thinking that we’re not prepared. We prepare for a lot of situational football throughout the week, especially on Friday. So hats off to the special teams and the guys up front. We put guys up there that are athletes so they can recover onside kicks or whatever may happen. And that was a surprise, and we’re happy that we got it, go right down and score.”

CU needed just five plays to cover 46 yards and take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Augustave. The Buffs jumped ahead 14-0 about six minutes later and went into halftime with a commanding 28-7 lead.

Both teams seemed to coast throughout the second half as CU was never threatened.

It was the second time this season that CU has responded to a loss by getting a dominant victory on the road.

“I mean, that’s just the expectation,” Shedeur Sanders said.

“Coming here, the players that transferred in, they understand everything’s not going to be easy, and especially the way the games were early on, you know? We had a little bit of everything, you know? So it prepared us for now, the second half of our season.”

The second half is off a successful start, as the Buffs prepare for next Saturday’s matchup against Cincinnati (8:15 p.m., ESPN) just one win from bowl eligibility.

“Wonderful game, wonderful victory,” Coach Prime said. “Offense, defense, collectively, both units played great.

“We played a balanced game. We really did. And I’m proud of the young men. I’m proud of the coaches. They called a phenomenal game. Special teams as well.”