Travis Hunter on his viral touchdown catch: 'I had no other choice'

Travis Hunter has played in one college football game this year and might’ve already delivered one of the highlights of the season with his twisting, miraculous touchdown catch in the second half against North Dakota State. And the Colorado star quipped after that not making the catch in that moment wasn’t an option.

It didn’t matter that cornerback Jailen Duffie bodied up Hunter on the playing, effectively walling off the receiver from working back to the ball — and likely interfering with him in the process. It didn’t matter that the ball thrown by Shedeur Sanders was a little to the inside, forcing the difficult adjustment for Hunter. It didn’t matter that Hunter seemingly could barely see the ball coming, jutting his arms out to the right and hauling in an otherworldly touchdown grab.

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All that mattered was on a previous look on a similar play, Hunter hadn’t come down with it, even after getting interfered with by Duffie (the flag was called that time). That wasn’t going to happen twice.

“It’s funny because he got on me for not catching the one that we [got] called a flag, because I told him to throw me the ball no matter what,” Hunter said after the game. “So he got mad at me, like, ‘I don’t care, catch the ball.’ So that one, I just knew I had to catch the ball. I had no other choice, no other option. Whatever I had to do to get the ball, I was going to do it.”

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Hunter finished the game with seven catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns, including his highlight-reel grab. He also continued his two-way starring, lining up at cornerback and generally locking down his assignment.

Hunter took a leap in the Heisman odds after his performance

It’s safe to say that Colorado may have started the season 0-1 if it wasn’t for Hunter. Who played every snap on offense and defense for the Buffaloes and made a significant impact in their 31-26 win at home versus FCS powerhouse North Dakota State on Thursday.

So much so that Hunter has now become more of a Heisman favorite than he was before yesterday’s game in Boulder.

According to Action Network, Hunter entered the college football season at +5000 odds to win the Heisman Trophy. But after his dominant performance against the Bison, Hunter now currently sits at +1500 odds to take home college football’s most prestigious award.

Hunter’s Heisman odds shift was definitely well warranted, playing in 129 total snaps where he recorded three tackles on defense and caught seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns on offense. Capping off the night with a highlight reel-worthy contested touchdown catch that extended Colorado’s lead in the fourth quarter.

The hype surrounding Hunter heading into the college football season was real following his first season at Colorado in 2023. Winning the Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in college football after playing in over 1,000 snaps last season to lead the nation in snaps from scrimmage in the regular season for the FBS. Doing so despite missing three and a half games due to a lacerated liver injury.

Hunter was also a consensus first-team All-American last season, named the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and even earned one of three spots on the cover of the new College Football 25 video game. Making history on Thursday by becoming just the fourth player in the last 24 years to record three interceptions and eight receiving touchdowns in his career following his strong showing to open up the season.