Colorado Beat Kansas State 27-24 in Overtime for First Big 12 Win

Colorado beat Kansas State 27-24 in overtime at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, October 31, 2026. It was Colorado's first Big 12 win of the season under head coach Deion Sanders, and it snapped a five-game losing streak.

Kansas State kicked a field goal on the opening possession of overtime to lead 24-21. Colorado's answer came on third and 9, when Isaac Wilson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Williams, and the Buffaloes had the win that had escaped them for five straight weeks.

The lead that slipped away

Colorado led 21-14 late in the fourth quarter but could not gain the first down it needed to close the game out. The Buffaloes punted, and Kansas State took over with a chance it very nearly turned into a win.

Quarterback Blake Barnett led a six-play, 54-yard drive in the final 55 seconds and completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Oakley with two seconds left in regulation, cutting the score to 21-20. Kansas State initially lined up to go for two points and the win, then changed its mind, kicked the extra point, and forced overtime at 21-21.

Young carries the ground game, Barnett keeps Kansas State close

Running back Richard Young scored two touchdowns for Colorado, including a 22-yard run early in the fourth quarter that put the Buffaloes ahead 21-14. Colorado finished with 407 total yards to Kansas State's 347.

Barnett finished 18 for 28 passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas State. The Wildcats played without starting quarterback Avery Johnson for a second straight game and used two different quarterbacks, and Barnett's late drive still took them within one play of a road win.

After the game, Sanders pointed straight at his players. "Our kids, they've never stopped believing," he said. "I'm just so darn proud of these young men right now."

What the win changes

Colorado is now 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12, in a last-place tie with Kansas State, who are 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12. The tie at the bottom is an odd place for a celebration, but for a team that had lost five in a row, the first conference win of the season was the only result that mattered on Saturday.