Colorado traveled to Kansas overflowing with confidence it could return home with yet another impressive road win.

Instead, the Buffaloes will be displaying a help wanted sign in Boulder.

The Buffs’ drive toward the Big 12 Conference championship game wasn’t completely derailed on Saturday, as CU limped out of its first visit to Kansas in 14 years on the wrong end of a 37-21 decision against the upstart Jayhawks. The Buffs certainly aren’t dead, and by any measure it’s been a resoundingly successful season just two years removed from the most miserable 1-11 season of all-time.

Nevertheless, the Buffs no longer are in control of their own destiny. And with a berth in the Big 12 title game no longer a certainty, the clock may be ticking on watching the brilliance of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders in CU uniforms.

It’s not that the Buffs were unprepared. It’s not as if they didn’t have opportunities to claim another road win. It’s just that for the first time since losing to Nebraska in the second game of the season, the Buffs were out-toughed by their opponent.

For much of the season, the CU defense has gone for the home-run hit instead of the sure tackle. More often than not, they have connected. On Saturday, though, KU made the Buffs miss. And made the Buffs pay the price. Kansas finished with 331 rushing yards. Meanwhile, the Buffs reverted to viewing the run game as an unnecessary nuisance, with running backs Isaiah Augustave, Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch combining to for eight carries and 17 yards.

Not great by any measure. But not woeful enough to wave the white flag on the run game, even with an early 17-point deficit.

For my two cents, the tide turned for the Buffs during a sequence late in the third quarter. CU appeared to convert a first down on a second-down pass to Will Sheppard. The officials thought otherwise, leaving the Buffs with a third-and-1.

Once lined up for a critical third-down play, the Buffs appeared out of synch from the start. No one wants to burn a timeout recklessly, but this would have been a justified use. Instead, Shedeur Sanders was sacked for a 5-yard loss, the Buffs punted, and Kansas converted a touchdown on its next drive to make it a 16-point game with under 12 minutes remaining.

Next thing you know, you need help to keep those championship aspirations alive.

On the bright side, Travis Hunter only padded his Heisman Trophy credentials. But heading into the regular-season finale on Friday morning against Oklahoma State, the Buffs are in the unenviable position of scoreboard-watching.

The easiest part of the equation ahead for the Buffs is to get back on track against Oklahoma State, the biggest train wreck in the unpredictable Big 12 that scored 48 points at home on Saturday and still managed to stay winless in Big 12 play. Get that win and the Buffs need one of two (sort of three) things to go down. The odds are stacked against CU either way.

Win against Oklahoma State and get a Houston upset at BYU, and the Buffs are in the Big 12 title game. If CU and BYU win, the Buffs need Arizona (at home) to upset Arizona State while Kansas State also wins at Iowa State.

While Buffs fans stew on their disappointment, just remember where this program was two years ago. And enjoy Hunter and Sanders in one last game at Folsom Field. If the Buffs finish short of the Big 12 title game and are eliminated from playoff contention, Sanders and Hunter, all but certain top-10 picks in next spring’s NFL draft, could very well refrain from playing in a second-tier bowl game in what would be very understandable business decisions.

Still, while the odds might be against the Buffs, don’t count them out. In what has been a wildly unpredictable Big 12 — one in which Kansas became the first FBS-level team with a losing record to post wins in three consecutive weeks against ranked foes — it would be true to the 2024 script to see a little more craziness unfold at the finish line.