ORLANDO, Fla. – Coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team traveled by plane to Florida on Wednesday, one day earlier than they had planned, all to avoid the hurricane that made landfall in the state on Thursday.
Then they tried to get ready for all of this – a warm, wet and humid game Saturday against Central Florida and the No. 1 rushing offense in the nation (375.7 yards per game).
Last week, the Buffaloes (3-1) needed a miracle to survive a wet homecoming game in Boulder against Baylor. On Saturday, they might need another one at sold-out FBC Mortgage Stadium, at least according to oddsmakers who favor the Knights (3-0) by 14 points.
The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox and will mark a different kind of homecoming for Sanders and many of his players from the Sunshine State, including two-way star Travis Hunter, who is from West Palm Beach.
A big question is whether Hunter will be enough against the Knights. He's lifted the Buffs to victory at times this year, along with quarterback Shedeur Sanders. But this might be a taller task. UCF hasn’t scored fewer than 35 points this season under coach Guz Malzahn.
Follow along here for the latest updates, news and highlights.
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders appears to be heating up after leading the Buffaloes to a 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. He has led the Buffaloes on back-to-back touchdown drives capped by two big touchdown passes – one for 23 yards to Travis Hunter and one for 47 yards to Will Sheppard.
Sanders finished the first quarter with 12-for-15 passing for 115 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The CU offense has been boosted by a running game that has 36 yards on seven carries.
ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF Knights answered Colorado’s touchdown drive with a touchdown of their own on the very next play. Quarterback KJ Jefferson lofted a first-down pass to the left side of the field, where running back RJ Harvey caught it and outraced Travis Hunter down the left sideline to score on a 75-yard touchdown catch with 3:38 left in the first quarter. The score is tied at 7-7.
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Shedeur Sanders-Travis Hunter show just got started. And now the Buffaloes are up 7-0 against Central Florida with 3:49 left in the first quarter.
Sanders, Colorado’s quarterback, found Hunter near the goal line for a 23-yard touchdown pass, finishing an 80-yard, 11-play scoring drive for the Buffaloes. Freshman running back Micah Welch had two runs on the drive for 27 yards.
Hunter now has four catches for 36 yards after two possessions. Sanders is 8-for-9 passing for 35 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
Score: Colorado 7, UCF 0 with 3:49 in the first quarter
ORLANDO, Fla. – Two possessions, two interceptions. After the delayed kickoff, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw an interception on his first possession of the game, setting up a short field for Central Florida at the Colorado 29-yard line.
But the Buffaloes got the ball back with an interception of their own when UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson lofted a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Colorado defensive back Preston Hodge. UCF ran 10 plays before the turnover and has 24 yards of offense.
The score is still 0-0 with 4:17 left in the first quarter.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Kickoff for the Colorado-Central Florida game has been delayed until at least 4:20 p.m. ET because of inclement weather and lightning in the area.
The game had been set to start at about 3:30 p.m. on Fox, then was delayed until 4:05 and then 4:20. The new kickoff time is “pending no lightning strikes within 8 miles,” according to the stadium video board.
The Central Florida Knights are favorites to defeat the Colorado Buffaloes in Saturday's college football matchup, according to the BetMGM college football odds. Looking to wager? Check out the top college football betting apps in 2024, offering the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024.
Odds as of Saturday.
USA TODAY experts have you covered on how things will go down in Week 5.
ORLANDO, Fla. – A rain cloud burst above the field at FBC Mortgage Stadium about 100 minutes before kickoff, chasing players off the field and under the cover of the stadium. The downpour also chased away Cam Newton, the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner who was strolling on the field before the game as a guest.
It’s not clear how long the rain will last, but the skies have been something to watch here lately. At 1:17 p.m. ET, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission lifted off about 35 miles east of the stadium at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch wasn’t visible from the stadium because of cloudy weather.
About an hour before game time, the stadium video board was still imploring fans to leave the seating bowl.
"Inclement weather in the area!" the video board said. "Please exit the seating bowl at this time."
Many students still stayed seated behind the end zones.
Coach Deion Sanders calls them his “Florida boys” – players on his Colorado football team who are Florida natives just like him.
This week many of them came home when the Buffaloes arrived in Orlando Wednesday for Saturday’s game at Central Florida.
The Colorado roster officially lists 18 players on the roster from Florida, second only to players from Texas (21) and more than even players from Colorado itself (14).
But there are more than that with connections to the state. The list doesn’t even include two-way star Travis Hunter, who is from West Palm Beach but moved to Georgia for high school. It also doesn’t include freshman starting offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, who played the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, but is from Washington, D.C.
The list does include wide receiver LaJohntay Wester, who returns home a hero after catching a Hail Mary touchdown pass last week as time expired in the fourth quarter of a 38-31 overtime win against Baylor. He is from Palmetto, Florida, and transferred to Colorado from Florida Atlantic, along with his brother Jaylen, a linebacker for Colorado.
Sanders is from Fort Myers, Florida, and played at Florida State. He has made it a point to recruit players from Florida and cited the state's high number of players in the NFL. Earlier this year, he also hired Orlando native Warren Sapp to join his coaching staff as a graduate assistant. Sapp starred at the University of Miami.
UCF is expected to host dozens of recruits Saturday. But Deion Sanders suggested that many will be there to check out the Buffaloes.
“I shouldn’t say this,” Sanders said on his weekly show on CBS Colorado. “But this is the way we do it… A lot of recruits that really want to see us, they will sign up to go to the game on the behalf of an opposing team.”
Sanders said he guaranteed the Knights will “have their biggest recruiting weekend this weekend.”
“Every recruit in Florida is gonna be on that sideline,” he said.
According to ESPN's Matchup Predictor, the UCF Knights have an 82% chance to beat the Colorado Buffaloes in Week 5.
Justin Martinez writes, "Colorado beat the odds in its overtime win over Baylor last week, getting a Hail Mary touchdown from Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester at the end of regulation. I don't think the Buffaloes will be able to repeat that magic against the Knights, though. UCF ranks first in the nation in rushing yards per game this season (375.7), and it'll use that strength to control the time of possession and take the ball out of Sanders' hands. This one will be closer than the odds suggest, but UCF will still get the win."
Jack Carlough writes, "The Knights are currently favored by about two touchdowns, which is far too generous toward UCF. However, Colorado’s special teams woes and continued offensive line problems still have me leaning toward those Knights."
Saturday will mark the first time the two programs have met and will see UCF (3-0) take on Colorado (3-1), led by its second-year coach, Deion Sanders.
Offense
Defense
Specialists
Offense
Defense
Specialists
Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports discuss these topics and more in this week's version of the College Football Fix.
Nebraska and Memphis both dropped out of this week's US LBM Coaches Poll. The Georgia Bulldogs pulled ahead to take the top spot with the Texas Longhorns in a close second.
There is still plenty of time left in the season for teams to continue vying for position, with the hope of securing a spot in the College Football Playoff or at the very least a bowl game. Here are Erick Smith's USA TODAY Sports bowl projections following the results of Week 4 games.
Paul Myerberg provides this week's USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134, where he ranks every team in college football, including Colorado and UCF before they meet this afternoon.
Reporter Eddie Timanus is back to offer some big-picture perspective in response to a bit of the buzz from Week 4, much of which was generated by members of one conference in particular.
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