Colorado could smell a berth in the Big 12 championship game heading into Week 13, but now those hopes took a major hit.

Thanks to a bruising Kansas rushing attack and another slow start by the Buffs, the host Jayhawks pulled off the upset over No. 16 Colorado, 37-21, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to hand the CU its second loss in conference play.

"We started smelling ourselves a little bit," head coach Deion Sanders said postgame. "That’s what I just told our team. We got intoxicated with success. We got intoxicated with the multitude of articles and the assumption that we’re this and the assumption that we’re that. We did not play CU football, therefore we got our butts kicked. It is what it is."

Kansas (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) came into the game with a clear plan, and it worked to perfection in the first half. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes used a lot of motion and misdirection to create space for running back Devin Neal, who exploded through the line of scrimmage time and time again on the way to 207 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on a whopping 37 carries.

Colorado (8-3, 6-2) also had a very hard time getting Neal on the ground in this one, and that was on full display to finish Kansas’ opening drive. Jalon Daniels checked the ball down to Neal in the flat before the star running back burst through a handful of tackles and into the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown as he also had 80 yards on 4 receptions.

Meanwhile, it was another slow start for the Colorado offense, which was unable to get on the board for more than the first 20 minutes of the game. Part of that was due to Kansas controlling the clock, but part of it was due to a lack of clarity in the CU game plan. The Buffs were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 on the ground in the first half and just failed to get anything going early. However, after Kansas extended the lead to 17-0, the Buffs broke free and got on the board when Travis Hunter took a screen pass 51 yards for a score.

At the end of the first half, the Buffs’ defense stood tall in the red zone against a Kansas team that excels inside the 20. Colorado forced a pair of field goals inside the 10, with a Drelon Miller touchdown catch sandwiched in between, to take just a 9-point deficit into the half, 23-14.

The Buffs appeared ready to take advantage of the opportunity. They marched right down the field out of halftime and cut the deficit to 23-21 on Hunter’s second touchdown of the day, a 26-yard reception.

However, the Kansas run game was ready to grind for another 30 minutes.

The Jayhawks were unfazed by Colorado’s momentum out of the break. They went right back to work with Neal and Daniels on the ground, marching 80 yards in 10 plays before Neal punched in a 1-yard touchdown to expand the lead to 30-21.

Colorado’s next drive quickly stalled out after Sanders was sacked on third down, and the Jayhawks went to work on the ground once again. Daniels, Neal and company salted the game away with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took over 8 minutes off the clock. Neal punctuated another masterful series with his fourth touchdown of the day to put Kansas up 37-21 with 11:47 left to play.

Colorado was still technically only down by two scores, but its last-ditch comeback attempt fell flat on the grass with a failed fourth-down Sanders pass on the ensuing series. Kansas continued to grind the clock out on the ground, and the Buffs never saw the ball again.

Kansas finished this game with 331 yards on the ground and 29 first downs. The Jayhawks came into the day as one of the best third-down teams in college football, and they backed that up with a 9-for-14 performance in that department. Neal finished with 287 total yards on 41 touches and those four total touchdowns.

"331 yards rushing was alarming," Sanders said. "You can’t win when a team has rushed for 331 yards on you. That’s not indicative of who we’ve been and who we are. That is certainly not who we are, and we could not stop the bleeding. We tried. Consistently. But we could not stop the bleeding. That’s hats off to them. They were physical. They out-physicaled us, they outplayed us. They wanted it a lot more than we did."

Hunter solidified his Heisman Trophy campaign with another stellar day on both sides of the ball. The favorite for college football’s biggest individual honor caught eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns while making seven tackles on defense.

The Buffs are now in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 after Arizona State knocked off BYU and Iowa State narrowly knocked off Utah on Saturday night. Colorado will get a chance to get into a disadvantageous tiebreaker scenario with a win next week on Senior Day against Oklahoma State on Friday.

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First quarter

KU 11:44: Devin Neal 51-yard pass from Jalon Daniels (Tabor Allen kick), KU 7-0

KU 2:39: Tabor Allen 24-yard field goal, KU 10-0

Second quarter

KU 9:02: Devin Neal 9-yard run (Tabor Allen kick), KU 17-0

COL 7:18: Travis Hunter 51-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders (Alejandro Mata kick), KU 17-7

KU 3:47: Tabor Allen 23-yard field goal, KU 20-7

COL 1:51: Drelon Miller 19-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders (Alejandro Mata kick), KU 20-14

KU 0:07: Tabor Allen 25-yard field goal, KU 23-14

Third quarter

COL 11:59: Travis Hunter 26-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders (Alejandro Mata kick), KU 23-21

KU 7:18: Devin Neal 1-yard run (Tabor Allen kick), KU 30-21

Fourth quarter

KU 11:47: Devin Neal 2-yard run (Tabor Allen kick), KU 37-21

The Buffs lost this one because they had absolutely no answer for Kansas’ running attack. The Jayhawks dominated the Buffs’ front seven in a way that has not happened this season. Kansas consistently moved the line of scrimmage and got its blocks up to the second level to create running lanes for Neal and Daniels.

All in all, that success resulted in a dominant offensive performance for Kansas. Coach Lance Leipold's team never punted and racked up 331 yards rushing. Kansas also finished with more than 40 minutes of possession time, keeping Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado offense on the sideline.

It felt like Colorado had seized the momentum of the game out of halftime when Hunter’s touchdown cut the Kansas lead to just two points. The Jayhawks were looking for a long scoring drive to reset the momentum of the game before it was too late.

After crossing midfield, Kansas ran into a tricky third-and-9 scenario, the exact type of situation that the Colorado defense has excelled in all season. However, the Jayhawks elected to keep the ball on the ground with Neal, and the star running back picked up 14 yards and a first down. Five plays later, Neal found the end zone and Kansas was back in front by two scores.

Colorado’s offense got off to a slow start in this game, but Pat Shurmur and the Buffs eventually went to their most reliable play. Sanders found Hunter on a screen pass, and the Heisman favorite followed some pristine blocking to the end zone to get Colorado on the board.

There wasn’t much to write home about on the defensive side of the ball for CU in this one. Kansas never punted and had the ball for more than 40 minutes on just eight possessions. In the end, the unit that had kept the Buffs in so many games this season let them down in this one.

That being said, check out this amazing pass breakup by Hunter.

Hunter was his usual spectacular self on both sides of the ball. He was a no-fly zone on defense and also chipped in in the run game, making seven tackles in addition to that pass breakup. Offensively, Hunter caught eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns while consistently providing an outlet for Sanders in the scramble drill.

Colorado’s College Football Playoff hopes took a huge hit after this game, but Hunter now feels like he has the Heisman Trophy just about locked up.

The Buffs came into this one shorthanded despite getting running back Micah Welch back from a hamstring injury. However, defensive tackle Shane Cokes, wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. and cornerback Preston Hodge all didn’t suit up for this one.

Running back Isaiah Augustave left the game in the first quarter after taking a hard hit. He made it off the field under his own power. Right tackle Phillip Houston also went down with what appeared to be a right leg injury late in the game. Neither one returned to the game.

After the game, Sanders didn't have a very promising update regarding Houston's status.

“We’re hoping he didn’t tear an ACL," Sanders said. "That’s what we thought. That’s the thinking right now. I’m hoping that’s not the case."

Colorado

Total Yards: 308

Passing

Shedeur Sanders: 23-for-29, 266 yards, 2 TD

Rushing

Shedeur Sanders: 4 carries, 26 yards

Isaiah Augustave: 2 carries, 11 yards

Dallan Hayden: 4 carries, 5 yards

Micah Welch: 2 carries, 1 yard

Receiving

Travis Hunter: 8 catches, 125 yards, 2 TD

LaJohntay Wester: 4 catches, 45 yards

Drelon Miller: 5 catches, 44 yards, TD

Dallan Hayden: 1 catch, 15 yards

Micah Welch: 1 catch, 15 yards

Will Sheppard: 1 catch, 10 yards

Isaiah Augustave: 2 catches, 9 yards

Sav’ell Smalls: 1 catch, 3 yards

Kansas

Total yards: 520

Passing

Jalon Daniels: 14-for-21, 189 yards, TD

Rushing

Devin Neal: 37 carries, 207 yards, 3 TD

Jalon Daniels: 6 carries, 72 yards

Sevion Morrison: 11 carries, 47 yards

Luke Grimm: 1 carry, 7 yards

Receiving

Devin Neal: 4 catches, 80 yards, TD

Trevor Kardell: 2 catches, 38 yards

Luke Grimm: 4 catches, 35 yards

Jared Casey: 2 catches, 21 yards

Lawrence Arnold: 1 catch, 10 yards

Trevor Wilson: 1 catch, 5 yards