BOULDER — The nine remaining scholarship players and several walk-ons still around from last year’s 1-11 Colorado team aren’t the only Buffaloes hunting first-time success.

Look at wide receivers Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr.

The pair of starters for CU both transferred in from South Florida this offseason. Not only did they experience an identical record to the Buffs last season at 1-11, but in 2021, Weaver and Horn went 2-10 with the Bulls. That was Horn’s freshman season. The year before, when Weaver was a sophomore in 2020, USF went 1-8.

That’s why when the Buffs completed their 45-42 upset win over then-No. 17 TCU last weekend, the two found each other on the field and embraced. That one win — and the roles each of them played in it — was enough for them to shed a few tears.

“It means a lot,” Weaver said. “We came a long way from our previous school. We’ve been losing a lot, so that (win) felt like a national championship in a way. All the hard work we put in, it finally showed.”

It also helped that both Horn and Weaver played pivotal roles in the record-breaking day for the CU offense.

Horn was tied with Travis Hunter with the most catches in the game with 11 (which was a record for most in a CU debut) and his touchdown in the fourth quarter gave the Buffs the lead in the back-and-forth finish. Weaver was the deep threat he was promised to be, racking up nearly 20 yards per reception with his 118 yards.

It was a performance they knew they were more than capable of having, despite the struggles the last two seasons at USF. In fact, it’s something they talked about everyday last year and those conversations continued after Horn was the first to commit to CU in late December.

“We knew what we were doing,” Weaver said.

Added Horn: “It felt good just to have a win, plus at this level with all the doubters and all the haters. At the end of the day, we’re not satisfied with that. There’s more to come.”

Now the duo are preparing for their first home game in black and gold. Even though they’re a pair of central Florida boys, they know there couldn’t be a better first opponent to face at Folsom Field.

“It’s a different feeling,” Horn said. “This is the game everybody wants to win. We could play 1,000 games, we can go to bowl games and all that, this rivalry game, just hearing from fans, they be like, ‘I don’t care if y’all lose 100 games, as long as y’all beat Nebraska, y’all will be good.’ Us as players, we’ve gotta take it as serious as them.”

They’ve also embraced all of the people nationwide that have jumped on the Buffs bandwagon this week. Weaver was particularly excited to see the likes of LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes tweeting about CU after the big win saying, “We’ve gotta get LeBron up here. I need to see the G.O.A.T., King James.”

Weaver said Mahomes is certainly welcome, too, but he knows Boulder is still Broncos Country and the Chiefs quarterback will need to try and blend in.

“He better wear some gold and black,” Weaver said with a laugh.

Overnight, the Buffs have become the biggest sports story in the country, some might say (like the Denver Gazette’s own Woody Paige) that they’ve become “America’s team.” While that certainly comes with notoriety and headlines, it doesn’t mean the haters will go away. The Buffs are okay with that.

“I feel like we’re America’s team, but there’s still doubters out there that want us to fail,” Horn said.