Is Travis Hunter playing vs Oregon? Latest injury update

The question of whether or not Travis Hunter is playing against Oregon in Week 4 has a sad answer: no.

Hunter was injured on a dirty hit from Colorado State’s Henry Blackburn during the first quarter of Week 3’s Rocky Mountain Showdown. Mike Farrell of Mike Farrell Sports deemed the play by Blackburn one with the “intent to injure” — and it certainly did the trick. Hunter ended up with a lacerated liver and, according to Coach Prime during a September 17 press conference, will be out a few weeks “for sure.”

Sports Injury Analyst Marty Jaramillo explained to CBS Sports Hailey Sutton on September 18 that the injury was one that typically results from a car accident, not a football play.

“A lacerated liver is not a football injury; it is an injury from a motor vehicle accident,” Jaramillo prefaced before saying, “This is the level of impact this young man sustained.”

When will Travis Hunter return from injury?

FS1 Undisputed host Skip Bayless reported that the injury to Hunter “is not considered terribly serious and should heal on its own.” Sanders also told 247Sports’ Carl Reed Jr. that Hunter will be out for at least three weeks.

That means Hunter’s status for the Oregon, USC, and Arizona State games is a definitive “out,” but the door is open for a return for a Friday the 13th return in October against Stanford. Given the bad luck CU has already seen with Hunter getting injured in front of a capacity Folsom Field crowd with the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Lil Wayne, Offset, and Master P, among others, in attendance, the prospect of an October 13 return is somewhat spooky for the superstitious folks.

Hunter has been a standout for Colorado in pass protection defensively and in the passing game offensively, and Shilo Sanders correctly assessed his presence as the equivalent of two players; making his loss double as painful.

It’ll be a while before we see No. 12 on the field for Coach Prime’s Buffs.