Not since the thrilling Rocky Mountain Showdown vs. in-state rival Colorado State has Travis Hunter suited up for the Colorado Buffaloes. This mega two-way talent has been sidelined with an injury suffered after a late hit by a Rams defender. Colorado improved to a surprising 3-0 in that game, but have dropped two of its last three, albeit vs. two top-10 teams in Oregon and USC back-to-back.
Fresh off their first conference win of the season over Arizona State, the 4-2 (1-2) Buffaloes are hosting a listless 1-4 Stanford team at Folsom Field on Friday night. A win here for Colorado would get the Buffs one away from achieving bowl eligibility with five more opportunities left. Of course, Stanford is the easiest opponent they have remaining, as they only face conference opponents now.
With rumors that Hunter could be making his triumphant return to the Buffaloes' starting lineup, ESPN's Pete Thamel provided the latest on Friday morning. His intel suggests that Hunter is on target to play, but it will be up to how he looks and feels in pre-game warmups before the coaches and medical staff decide what to do. His head coach Deion Sanders did say he was practicing this week.
Colorado can probably beat Stanford at home without Hunter available, but they cannot lose this one.
The big dilemma here is whether Colorado should force Hunter back into action, or just wait two more weeks.
Will Travis Hunter play for Colorado vs. Stanford on Friday night?
Even if he does not play, Hunter should be on track to return in two weeks for the Buffaloes' next game at UCLA. Colorado will be on its bye week after the Stanford game. Should Hunter be deemed healthy enough to go out there, he would have plenty of time to recover from any bumps and bruises he may suffer vs. the Cardinal. Of course, he could re-aggravate something and ruin his whole year...
Regardless, the Buffaloes have to win on Friday, point blank, if they want to go bowling. Sanders may have loftier expectations than that, but this is the new baseline for Colorado football currently. Going to a bowl game means holding bowl practices, thus creating more opportunities for the players to work on their craft on the field and improve. Hunter does not need work; he just needs to play ball.
To me, if Hunter is healthy enough to go on Friday night, then he should play. Football is a game of injuries, so you cannot avoid them entirely. Conversely, Hunter is the type of talent that will turn pro after his true junior season next year, so having him ride pine as a precaution means he will play one less game for you. With an extra week to recover after Friday night, I would say let Hunter play, baby!
A win over Stanford would have Colorado at 5-2 (2-2) on the season and possibly near the AP Top 25.