The Colorado Buffaloes pulled off the biggest upset of the Coach Prime Era on Friday, defeating the No. 14 Houston Cougars 42-32. The Buffaloes played the most complete game of their season, erasing issues that had previously derailed their season.

One of the players who contributed most heavily to that win was safety Randon Fontenette, as he racked up 13 tackles, 12 of which were solo, along with a sack and a forced fumble. He revealed that he came into this game with two major motivations that fueled his explosive game.

Randon Fontenette relishes eliminating the Houston Cougars from CFP contention

A Houston, Texas, native, Fontenette already had his home roots to point to as extra motivation coming into this contest. But with the Buffaloes in a must-win situation to keep their bowl game hopes alive, Fontenette knew that the Cougars had similar but heightened stakes at hand. They needed to win out for a shot at a College Football Playoff bid, and with a loss to Colorado, those hopes were dashed in an instant.

“Game 10, we’re fighting for a bowl game,” Fontenette said. “I just felt like we had to leave it all out there, which everybody did…They came in with College Football Playoff hope, so it meant a lot to knock them off. We’re fighting for a bowl game, which is way less than a playoff spot, so we felt like we had nothing to lose. We were able to go out there, play free and just be the guys.”

Randon Fontenette motivated by Deion Sanders

Fontenette was also motivated by the situation regarding his coach, Deion Sanders. He spoke about knowing Sanders was on the hot seat coming into the game, and how that motivated him to leave everything on the field. Sanders proved Fontenette’s buy-in worthwhile, as he invested in him and picked him up when he was down during the game.

“He helped me tonight when I missed some tackles,” Fontenette said. “I was mad, but he helped me get through it and told me I’m a good player and not to let that knock my confidence. Playing for him, that’s what fueled me to go hard. He brought me here; I bet on myself to come here for him and I felt like I owed it to him to give him all I had.”

Where the Colorado Buffaloes go from here

On account of Fontenette and his teammates’ performances, the Buffaloes have reinvigorated hope for the remainder of the season. Colorado still needs to win out to make a bowl game, but its remaining competition is far easier than what it faced on Friday.

The Buffaloes’ next game is against the Cincinnati Bearcats in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bearcats have looked impressive at points this season, but at others, they’ve been puzzlingly weak. On Saturday, the latter was the case, as they were demolished 41-13 at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones. The Bearcats have lost three straight games, and if they remain in that form against the Buffaloes, Colorado will be licking its chops at the opportunity.

Then, Colorado is set to face the UCF Knights, who haven’t fared much better than the Buffs this season. Aside from one miraculous win over the then-No. 2 BYU Cougars on Oct. 24, they’ve been up and down all season, with no other truly impressive wins. Colorado certainly stands a chance in this game, especially with it taking place in Boulder.

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