BOULDER • Exhale, Buff nation. It may have taken more than 60 minutes and the game may have ended after midnight, but coach Deion Sanders and No. 18 Colorado survived against Colorado State for an 43-35 double overtime win on Saturday night at Folsom Field.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and walk-on tight end Michael Harrison connected three times in the closing stages of the game as Harrison not only caught the two-point conversion that forced OT, but he caught the two touchdowns the Buffs scored after regulation.

CU got the defensive stand it needed as safety Trevor Woods’ interception in the end zone sealed the win.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Travis Hunter’s injury now clouds everything

Despite the result, the biggest news of the night is undoubtedly Travis Hunter’s injury. The star two-way player left the game and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, it was announced in the third quarter.

Hunter’s exact injury wasn’t specified, but he was the victim of a late hit by Rams safety Henry Blackburn in the first quarter. Although Hunter appeared to be in some pain after the play, he did return to the game and play the rest of the second half, so the exact play he was injured on is also unknown.

The rivalry is back

Rarely does a team have 11 penalties for well over 100 yards in the first half and dominate the way Colorado State did. But the Rams were clearly the better team for much of the night and certainly came to play in this rivalry game.

Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi gave the Rams offense the jolt it needed, completing 34-of-47 passes for 367 yards for three touchdowns and three interceptions.

CSU was able to do exactly what it wanted and get talented skill players like Tory Horton and Dallin Holker the ball in space. The Buffs had no answer all night long.

At the beginning of this week, it didn’t seem like there was going to be a ton of animosity on either sideline. After 60 minutes of incredibly intense football, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

This game had 10 times the energy that the Buffs’ win over Nebraska did last weekend. A much closer game helps, but both teams acted like two sides that despised each other.

Shedeur Sanders delivers when it mattered

After struggling to get in a rhythm all night long, Sanders did what all big-time players do: He came through in the clutch.

Down by eight points with just over 2 minutes, 6 seconds left to play, the star CU quarterback took the Buffs 98 yards down the field in a minute and a half, finding Jimmy Horn Jr. for a 45-yard touchdown and then hitting a wide-open Harrison for the game-tying two-point conversion.

For as poorly as the Buffs may look at times this season, they’ve always got a chance with No. 2 under center.