BOULDER — Shilo Sanders never lost confidence, he was just going through the rollercoaster ride that can be a college football season.

After racking up nine tackles, including one for loss, in the season opener against North Dakota State, Sanders’ season took a turn for the worst. He suffered an arm injury in the blowout loss at Nebraska and when he did return to the field a month later in the only other loss of the season against Kansas State, his struggles were well documented on social media.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, that’s all behind Sanders as he continues to contribute to a Colorado defense that is not just doing its part to keep the No. 16 Buffaloes in games, but is now a big reason why the team is 8-2 overall (5-1 in Big 12 play) and in prime position to reach the conference championship game.

“It’s not really surprising to me because we do it in practice all the time,” Sanders said. “I knew we had a special team this season. I’ve been saying that (since) before the season even started. Everybody thought I was crazy, but now y’all see. Even last year it was (a bunch of) close games and now we’ve got the guys that we can get over the hump, basically, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

The starting safety has been in the middle of some of the biggest game-sealing plays the last two weeks. While everybody else was waiting for the referees to blow their whistles, Sanders scooped a fumble and returned it for a touchdown on a strip sack by Arden Walker that put the nail in the coffin in the win at Texas Tech.

This past week against Utah, he had a fourth quarter strip sack of his own that Keaten Wade recovered for the CU defense’s fourth takeaway of the afternoon.

“It’s great,” Sanders said. “There’s ups and downs in this game. It is what it is. Coming back, I’m finally making plays and now I can do interviews and stuff. It’s nice.”

It’s been a remarkable turnaround from 2023 to 2024 for the Buffs defense as a whole. They’re allowing 12 points per game less than they did last season. They rank first in the Big 12 in sacks, second in total takeaways and are doing it with a physical nature that is only strengthening as the season has gone on.

“It starts with the front seven, they’ve been doing their thing,” Sanders said. “I don’t really even have to worry about the run like that no more, but whenever I need to get up in there, I get up in there. It’s just great. We’re playing complimentary football with offense and defense and you see how the scores turn out.”

If the defense keeps playing like this, there’s no reason the Buffs can’t win these final two regular season games and play for the Big 12 title on Dec. 7 — in Sanders’ home state of Texas, no less.

“We’re not just here to go out there and give it our best shot. We’re here to win,” Sanders said. “That’s how everybody’s thinking. Everybody’s been paying attention to details and making sure it’s not their fault if something goes wrong. We’re just trying to win games.”

Several CU veterans accept East-West Shrine Bowl invites

A record six Colorado players have accepted invitations to play the annual East-West Shrine Bowl, a postseason all-star game that serves as a showcase for NFL teams getting ready to welcome a new class of players into the league.

The Buffaloes will send the Sanders duo of quarterback Shedeur and safety Shilo, as well as a trio of wide receivers in Jimmy Horn Jr., Will Sheppard and LaJohntay Wester, with safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig rounding out the group.

The game will be played on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.