MANHATTAN, Kansas — Colorado didn’t have much to play for Saturday, but the Buffaloes didn’t go down without a fight.
CU battled throughout the day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium before falling to host Kansas State 24-14 in the season finale.
The Buffs (3-9, 1-8 Big 12) closed their third season under head coach Deion Sanders with a five-game losing streak. Kansas State (6-6, 5-4) reached bowl eligibility with the victory.
Coming in as 17.5-point underdogs, CU pulled within 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but K-State put the game away with a 75-yard scoring drive in the closing minutes.
Kansas State’s Joe Jackson ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, getting 60 of his yards on the Wildcats’ final drive.
CU running back Micah Welch scored two touchdowns, and receiver Omarion Miller caught seven passes for 120 yards. Quarterback Kaidon Salter, making his first start since Nov. 1, threw for 172 yards and an interception.
K-State opened the game with an impressive and methodical 13-play, 74-yard scoring drive that took 7 minutes, 40 seconds off the clock. Jackson keyed the drive with a 27-yard run, and then capped it with a 4-yard touchdown run.
CU responded by marching to the K-State 21-yard line, but the drive stalled there and Alejandro Mata’s low field goal attempt was blocked.
The Buffs’ defense stepped up the rest of the half, forcing two three-and-outs and getting a fourth-down stop by Keaten Wade near midfield.
Meanwhile, CU kept driving into K-State territory, but was stopped a yard short on fourth-and-3 and then Salter threw an interception.
The Buffs, however, found some rhythm late in the half.
Hayden kick-started a drive with runs of 24 and 14 yards. Then, Salter hit Omarion Miller for 38 yards to the Wildcats’ 1-yard line. Micah Welch punched it into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown 18 seconds before halftime, and CU went into intermission tied 7-7.
CU opened the second half with a promising drive to the K-State 34 but gained just three yards on three straight runs, including a 1-yarder by Hayden on fourth down that was inches shy of the first down marker.
Midway through the third, Kansas State got a couple of big passes from Johnson to get into scoring position, and Jackson punched the ball into end zone on a 1-yard run. That gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead with 4:32 to play in the third.
The score remained that way until K-State put together another long drive, this one covering 61 yards in 15 plays and taking 6:43 off the clock. Luis Rodriguez drilled a 35-yard field goal to increase the Wildcats lead to 17-7 with 10:23 to go in the fourth quarter.
The CU offense responded, though, with Salter leading a 75-yard drive, which began with his 43-yard pass to Omarion Miller. Welch capped the drive with his second 1-yard touchdown, pulling the Buffs within 17-14 with 7:03 to go.
Kansas State responded with a game-sealing nine-play, 75-yard drive, with Jackson scoring on a 17-yard play to make it 24-14 with 2:37 to go.
CU was unable to mount a comeback in the closing minutes.