Colorado’s performance against No. 18 Kansas State wasn’t perfect, and ultimately that's what cost it the game, but the Buffs were faced with having to overcome a number of hurdles Saturday night.

The absences of key playmakers Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn, who both went down in the first half, didn’t take the wind out of the Buffs' sails as the game went late into the evening and down to the wire at Folsom Field.

Colorado’s offensive balance and run defense was nowhere near as solid as it was against UCF, which left the Buffs in a compromising position in the fourth quarter down by 10 points. Eventually Colorado climbed back to regain its first lead with 3:12 to play, but it was short lived as the Wildcats prevailed.

Despite the loss and four significant injuries for the receiver group, including Omarion Miller and Terrell Timmons, Colorado was tasked with demonstrating its ability to persevere once again.

“Shows tremendous resilience,” head coach Deion Sanders said. “It shows you depth. It shows you the recruiting has been successful in the depth of that position. It shows that Pat [Shurmur] did a wonderful job. He didn’t change, the distribution of the ball and the play calling. We still had a couple big time guys out there that could make plays too."

Here are five key takeaways from the Buffs' loss against the Wildcats.