Blake Barnett already owns one Colorado record that used to belong to Christian McCaffrey.
On Halloween, the kid from Erie came within an overtime possession of taking a game from the Buffaloes, too.
Barnett, a third-year quarterback who had thrown five college passes before Saturday, came off the bench late in the first quarter and nearly carried Kansas State past Colorado. He completed 18-of-28 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and drove the Wildcats 62 yards in the final 55 seconds to force overtime in what became a 27-24 Colorado win.
Kansas State arrived without starter Avery Johnson and backup Jacob Knuth was doubtful. Dillon Duff started, but the Wildcats went three-and-out on each of their first three possessions, and Barnett entered after Colorado took a 7-0.
KSU head coach Collin Klein said he had told both quarterbacks they would play, and Barnett had gotten “a pretty good split” of the first-team work early in the week. Duff, Klein said, “was a little rattled and unsettled there early,” while Barnett “was able to give us a spark.”
His first big play was a 9-yard keeper on third-and-4. His first touchdown came the next time Kansas State had the ball, a 28-yard strike to Josh Manning that tied the game at 7. In the third quarter, he answered JaQuail Smith’s 47-yard touchdown run in four plays, hitting tight end Linkon Cure for 25 yards and then 33 more for the tying score.
The last one was the hardest. Taking over at his own 33 with 55 seconds left and Kansas State down 21-14, Barnett found Manning for 23 yards, then Manning again for 5 more, then Jaron Tibbs for 31 down to the Colorado 3. After a scramble, a spike and a delay-of-game penalty pushed Kansas State back to the 8, Barnett hit Garrett Oakley for the touchdown with two seconds left. Klein said Barnett was coming off an injury and liked how he handled the pressure.
“His demeanor didn’t change. He kept scratching away and was able to extend plays, make some big plays for us with his arm,” Klein said.
Safety Randon Fontenette said he didn’t know Barnett was from Colorado.
“I didn’t know that. He’s going to be a good quarterback,” Fontenette said. “I mean, the game slowed down for him as the game went on. I mean, we were sending pressure, but he wasn’t really too, you know, fazed by it.”
Colorado did get to him. Barnett was sacked three times, twice by linebacker Gideon Lamrpon and once by Yamil Talib. His 16 carries netted 40 yards, sacks included. In overtime, he converted a third-and-4 with a 6-yard pass to Oakley, but Cree Thomas and Boo Carter broke up his next two throws. Kansas State settled for a field goal.
Lampron said the Wildcats’ depth chart didn’t change the job.
“Yeah, he stepped in. He played really good.” Lampron said. “It’s hard to win a college football game regardless, you know, it doesn’t matter if it’s first- or second-string quarterback, third-string.”
Barnett has carried a team before. At Erie High School, he started all 43 games he played and led the Tigers to a 36-7 record. As a senior, he won a state championship and was named the Class 4A Player of the Year. His 159 career touchdowns broke the state record held by McCaffrey.
Rivals rated him the top overall prospect in Colorado’s 2024 class. He redshirted that fall and ran the ball 14 times in four games last season, four of those carries against Colorado in the 2025 finale in Manhattan, without throwing a pass. His only action this season before Saturday came in the opener against Nicholls, where he went 4-of-5 for 41 yards.
Fontenette thinks Barnett has “the potential to be a top Big 12 quarterback.” Klein was left thinking about how close Barnett came.
“I’m sad we couldn’t get over the hump for him,” Klein said.