WATCH: Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders dazzle as Colorado stuns TCU in Deion Sanders' debut as Buffs coach

Deion Sanders' highly anticipated Colorado team made its debut Saturday against No. 17 TCU and somehow found a way to exceed almost everyone's expectations. The Buffaloes not only pulled off the 45-42 upset, matching Colorado's win total from the 2022 season, but top-ranked transfers Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter put on a clinic in the win. 

Sanders completed 38 of his 47 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns, setting a Colorado record for passing yards and becoming the first quarterback Buffaloes quarterback to pass for at least 400 yards with no interceptions since 2013. With Sanders slinging it all over the field, four different Colorado receivers had at least 1,000 yards. 

Hunter, meanwhile, played full-time on both sides of the ball. He almost completely locked down one side of the field at cornerback while emerging as Sanders' go-to receiver, hauling in 11 catches for 119 yards. 

"We're going to put a hot tub on the plane for [Hunter], make sure he's straight." Colorado coach Deion Sanders said in his postgame interview. 

With so much action from Colorado's two stars, there are plenty of highlight plays to go over. Here are the best efforts from the Buffaloes' two stars in Colorado's stunning win on Saturday.

Hunter nearly makes early Catch of the Year contender

Hunter's first "wow" play didn't even count. Early in the second quarter with the game tied at seven, Colorado attempted an end-zone fade to Hunter, who upon first look mossed TCU star cornerback Josh Newton and tight-roped the sideline for his first touchdown catch at the FBS level. However, replay showed that he did not have control when his foot went out of bounds and the play was overturned. The highlight still stands as a display of Hunter's athletic ability. 

Hunter flashes ball skills 

Hunter had a productive day on defense. He was credited with two pass breakups and three tackles, but his most impressive play came as TCU was approaching the end zone midway through the third quarter. The Horned Frogs sent their running back on a wheel route, and Hunter played off, baiting TCU quarterback Chandler Morris into what looked like an easy throw. Hunter jumped the pass and made a diving interception, snatching the ball out of the back's hands. 

Hunter, Sanders hit on key conversion 

Most teams facing 3rd-and-16 in the shadow of their own goal line will keep it on the ground or run a screen, so as not to risk turning the ball over. Not Sanders and Colorado, though. When faced with that situation with just over nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, he let Sanders uncork a deep ball to Hunter, who boxed out a defensive back and made a tough catch through contact for a gain of 43. 

Sanders delivers key touchdown strike

On the same drive, Sanders completed an 11-yard pass to Hunter to work the ball deep into TCU territory. From TCU's 26-yard line, Sanders took the snap in an empty set and immediately started rolling to his left. With a TCU defender bearing down on him, Sanders flipped his body, set his feet and delivered a perfect strike to wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. to put the Buffaloes up 38-35. 

Sanders, Edwards connect for decisive score

TCU answered Sanders' touchdown pass to Horn with a scoring drive of its own, recapturing the lead at 42-38. Colorado worked the ball to TCU's 46 with just over four minutes to play, but the Horned Frogs forced the Buffaloes into a fourth-and-2 situation. Colorado decided to go for it, and with pressure in his face again, Sanders remained calm and dumped the ball off to freshman running back Dylan Edwards who did the rest of the work and ran it 46 yards to the house. 

Colorado's defense came up with a key fourth-down stop a few minutes later to secure the 45-42 win.