Medicine Hat-born wide receiver Elic Ayomanor leads Cardinal past Colorado in double overtime thriller

Elic Ayomanor, who was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, caught 13 passes for 294 yards in the second half Friday night, helping the Stanford Cardinals to come back from a 29-0 halftime deficit to defeat Dion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes 46-43. (Photo: X@StanfordFball)

A wide receiver born in Medicine Hat had the second-half of a lifetime Friday night, leading the Stanford Cardinal to a stunning comeback against "Coach Prime" – Dion Sanders – and the Colorado Buffaloes.

Elic Ayomanor had 0 catches in the first half as the Buffaloes rolled to a 29-0 lead over Stanford, in what appeared to be the latest conquest for Sanders, who has shocked college football with his transformation of a forlorn team in 2023.

The second half wasn’t a sequel however. It was a breakthrough.

Ayomanor caught 13 balls for a staggering 294 yard, playing a starring role as Stanford staged the largest comeback in team history, as the Cardinal defeated the Buffaloes 46-43 in double overtime on a 31-yard field goal by Joshua Karty.

"It’s a special game for these guys to be down 29-nothing against a really good football team and just not quit,”  Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor said. “We’ll enjoy this one.”

Ayomanor's 294 yards receiving broke the school record held by Troy Walters (278) against UCLA in 1999.

The astonishing Cardinal comeback left the sell-out crowd in Boulder stunned.

“Just knowing that as a team you all persevered until the end,” Ayomanor said, “and kept fighting is a lot more satisfying than silencing the opposing team's crowd.”

Ayomanor was born in Medicine Hat and grew up in Kincaid, a village in southwest Saskatchewan. He found his way to Massachusetts, where he was a star wide out at Deerfield Academy, before accepting a scholarship to Stanford.

TRAILING BIG

The Cardinal (2-4, 1-3 Pac-12) trailed big at halftime, with QBs Justin Lamson and Ashton Daniels unable to light a spark.

That is, until the second half when Daniels — with Lamson contributing — led Stanford on eight straight scoring drives. The Cardinal had 408 of their 523 yards in the second half and OT.

Daniels threw for 396 yards and four TDs. 

Stanford safety Alaka’i Gilman picked off a floating Shedeur Sanders pass in the end zone to set the stage in the second OT for Karty, who also drilled a 46-yarder with no time left in regulation to force extra time.

“That was a dumb play,” Sanders said of his errant throw. “I just threw it up.”

BUFFALO BUMMER

Meanwhile, for the Buffaloes, it was the largest blown lead in school history. The old mark was 28, set at Kansas on Nov. 6, 2010.

Sanders had an uneasy feeling, even up 29-0 at halftime. Maybe not the worst collapse in Colorado history about to unfold uneasy, but uneasy anyway.

 “I talked to them about the old cliche people say — it’s 0-0 but that’s not true. It’s not 0-0, it’s 29-nothing,” Sanders said. “I felt complacency going into the half because we stalled offensively, gave up some yardage as well. Just didn’t like how I felt going in at halftime.

"We come back out and here comes complacency," he added. "Here comes that team that I can’t stand, that you can’t stand it. You can’t understand how in the world that happens to us. But it did.”

Colorado committed 17 penalties for 127 yards in a game that started at 8:20 p.m. local time and ended at 12:21 a.m. Coach Sanders was still trying to wrap his mind about what happened at his post-game news conference.

“From youth on, I don’t remember being up 29-0 and losing a football game,” Sanders said. “I really don’t. This is a little tough for me.”

Shedeur Sanders finished with 400 yards passing and five touchdowns and rushed for a team-leading 37 yards. He and the Buffaloes (4-3, 1-3) were clicking early, amassing a huge lead. It looked over.

It wasn't.

“We have no choice but to go forward. That's life,” Deion Sanders said. “We didn't expect that. ... We can't sit down and have no pity party."

Two-way standout Travis Hunter returned after missing three games following a late hit in the Colorado State game that sent him to the hospital with a lacerated liver. He had 13 catches for 140 yards and two scores. He also had five tackles.

“The plays he made kept us in the game,” Sanders said.

Leading into the game, Sanders said on his weekly radio show that late kickoff games are the “stupidest thing ever invented.” This was the second late one for the Buffaloes this season that's gone to double OT at Folsom Field. The first one went their way, with the Buffaloes rallying to beat Colorado State 43-35.

This time, it was Stanford that rallied.

“Right now, we’re not built for the moment,” Sanders said. “Some of our players aren’t built for the moment where they have to make a play.”

With files from The Associated Press