Sanata Hopper's Historic Night Gives Colorado's Defense Something to Build On Before Utah

Buffs fans, the 29-7 final against Texas Tech looked ugly. The film on the defense looks a lot better.

Colorado's athletics department released a piece Thursday on defensive lineman Sanata Hopper, and the numbers are wild. Against Texas Tech, Hopper had 10 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries, all career highs. CU says he's the first player in program history with at least five tackles for loss and five hurries in the same game. Citing PFF, the school says he's also the first FBS defensive lineman to post those numbers since 2020, a span of almost 10,000 games. The Buffs had 12 tackles for loss as a team, and Hopper was in on half of them.

The unit as a whole showed up. Texas Tech came in averaging 36.2 points a game and had just 12 through three quarters, with the game 12-7 heading into the fourth. It was still a one-score game with 7:10 left before the Red Raiders scored two late touchdowns. Tech finished with 134 passing yards, its lowest of the season, after the Buffs' first four opponents averaged 236 through the air. CU says it was a clear step up from the Northwestern and Baylor games.

"It's like a chain reaction," Hopper said. "You see one person doing something good, you want to do something good." Deion Sanders liked a lot of it, with one big caveat: "We still broke at the end. And a good defense, a great defense, doesn't break."

The problem is still on the other side of the ball. As CBS Sports' Austin Nivison wrote, Colorado threw four interceptions against Tech. Isaac Wilson threw for 290 yards with one touchdown and three picks, and receiver Joseph Williams threw the fourth. The Buffs haven't scored more than 14 points against a Power Four opponent. Sanders called it "one glaring problem" and said, "Every darn day is an open competition" between Julian Lewis, Wilson and freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne.

Hopper's plan for the bye: "My mentality is to flush this loss... We've got people banged up. We want people to get back and be a little more healthy, and just get ready for Utah." No. 12 Utah comes to Folsom Field on Oct. 17 at 9:15 p.m. Central on ESPN or ESPN2.

Keep up with the Colorado Football through the bye. Radio question: can this defense keep the Buffs close enough against Utah for the quarterback to win it?

Sources: CUBuffs.com — Hopper leads improved defense against Texas Tech; CBS Sports — Deion Sanders hints at Colorado QB issue; UtahUtes.com — Kickoff time set for No. 12 Utah at Colorado.