Last season, the Rocky Mountain Showdown was a close game, but not this year. The Colorado Buffaloes physically beat up Colorado State on both sides of the ball Saturday evening and sent the Rams faithful home early in a 28-9 win. CU needed this bounce-back win after the Buffs were similarly manhandled by the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 2.

CU also extended its winning streak against the Rams to seven straight with the series set to resume in 2029. As we move into Big 12 play, the Buffs sit at 2-1 and look like a team starting to gel.

Here are five takeaways from the Buffs' dominant victory over CSU:

Travis Hunter remains unreal

Travis Hunter had another ho-hum night, pulling in 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns on offense with five tackles, one pass defended and an interception on defense. Hunter is a legitimate threat to win the Heisman and is easily the most talented player in college football.

Take a bow, offensive line

CU shuffled its starting offensive line unit and the results were tremendous. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, was rarely harassed and could make throws in a clean pocket en route to 310 yards passing on 36-of-49 and four touchdowns. The Buffs also got a push in the rush game, gaining 109 yards on 19 carries.

Welcome to college football, Micah Welch

True freshman running back Micah Welch got the first carries of his collegiate career and made the most of them, gaining 65 yards on nine rushes. Welch displayed incredible vision and is a load to bring down at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds. He should be a big part of the rotation moving forward.

Colorado's defense was incredible all night

This was the best defensive performance we have seen during the head coach Deion Sanders era. CU held the Rams to only nine points and 340 yards of offense. CSU struggled all night on third down, converting only 4-of-15 chances, and couldn't get any consistent production running or passing the ball. While the Rams did run for 131 yards, they handed it off 31 times, with 62 yards coming on one run. QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was under constant pressure and only completed 22-of-39 attempts for 209 yards.

Just needed one turnover to open the flood gates

CU's defense got its first turnover of the season, a Preston Hodge interception on the Rams' opening drive of the second half and proceeded to force turnovers on three straight possessions. On the night, the Buffs scored four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles — as the cherry on top of their impressive defensive performance.

This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: What we learned from Colorado's beatdown of CSU in Fort Collins