Ahead of Colorado State’s highly anticipated matchup with Colorado this weekend, Rams wide receiver Tory Horton is stoking the flames of the decades-old rivalry. In a quote obtained by The Athletic, Horton says that he believes that Colorado State should’ve beaten the Buffaloes last year.
“We owe them one. That’s been sittin’ on everybody’s minds since we came back from break. We owe them. I don’t feel like we left it all on the field because we should have murdered them guys. They came out with that attitude as they were on top of the world. This ain’t no Cinderella story.”
While Horton is questionable to play due to a groin injury per CBS News Colorado, he undoubtedly speaks for for the rest of his teammates in this rivalry matchup that was already high stakes last year. The in-state rivalry already was heated, per usual for college football rivalries, but things reached a new level when Rams head coach Jay Norvell made interesting comments about Deion Sanders that appeared to be a slight at his upbringing.
“When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat off and my glasses off…That’s what my mother taught me,” Norvell said of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders often doing press conferences with his glasses and hat on.
A video then surfaced of Sanders speaking with his team in practice saying that the game was now personal. He then spun the critique of his wearing of glasses in press conferences into a business venture, creating signature sunglasses that seemingly turned the slight on its head leading into the game.
The intrigue of the rivalry captivated the nation, as 9.3 million viewers tuned in to the late game on ESPN last September. The game featured a game-winning touchdown drive by Shedeur Sanders but rather contentious moments such as Travis Hunter’s injury after a late hit by Henry Blackburn. Hunter suffered a lacerated liver and was out for three games, eventually returning during the Stanford game.
Hunter and Blackburn have since reconciled following the in-game incident. The duo met up for a video on Hunter’s YouTube channel where they interviewed each other and they faced off against each other in bowling.
In the video, Hunter said, “Football’s just a game at the end of the day, and we’re the people that play it, We’re going to get hurt eventually…This video is something good. Us coming together is something good that came out of that injury and that football game.”
Meanwhile, Blackburn said he didn’t intend to hurt Hunter and lauded the Colorado two-way star for helping him tamper down the vitriol on social media against him.
“All that stuff that went down after the game, I can take it, I’m not tripping about me. I’ve got two little sisters at the house still in elementary school, so that’s what mainly I was worried about, their safety and everything. I appreciate you coming out and saying it’s football because that helped calm things down.”
Still, this year’s matchup will still be high stakes. The Buffaloes are coming off of a tough 28-10 loss to rival Nebraska and could really use a victory as they look to improve their chances of landing a Bowl Game appearance this season. The game also gives Shedeur Sanders and Hunter the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a large audience that will look to see round two of the heated rivalry matchup
Colorado & Colorado State face off on Saturday at 7:30 PM EST. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
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