It was an embarrassing Saturday for Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes after a lopsided 28-10 loss to Nebraska. And since CU is one of the most polarizing teams in all of college football, some folks like Shannon Sharpe saw it coming a mile away.
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In an episode of Nightcap, Sharpe went off on the Buffaloes, pointing out that the team has no “dogs” outside their quarterback and two notable receivers. The former NFL star observed that they didn’t have the necessary package on the field to convert on 4th downs, yet they continued to attempt them.
That’s what perplexed Sharpe. And it looked like he genuinely wanted to understand what exactly the Buffs are good at, as a team:
“I know him on a personal level. I know how much time he’s invested of his time. I know how much it means to him. So nobody wants him to do better more than I do. But when you look at Colorado, and I need you to be objective… Tell me one thing (The Buffaloes) are good at.”
According to Sharpe, the Buffs couldn’t run the ball, stop the run, pressure the opposing quarterback, or protect their own star QB. And this lack of performance checks off everything a good team must do in a game.
All their issues boil down to bad interior packages. They do not have the improved offensive or defensive lines that Coach Prime promised. Shedeur was still scrambling for options because there wasn’t enough time for receivers to reach their marks.
Coming to the quarterback, Sharpe pointed out the Shedeur has a fatal flaw. He holds on to the ball for too long. And when you combine a bad O-line with a QB who likes to hold, it is an instant recipe for football disaster.
As Sharpe pointed out:
“Sometimes, it’s okay to throw the ball away. It’s okay to throw the ball away and make it second and ten. It’s okay to throw the ball away and make it third and seven. I know it’s gonna look bad on your stats.”
Sharpe even believes that, at Shedeur’s current stage of recruitment, scouts are not evaluating him solely based on his completion percentage. In most cases, that alone will not determine his success. So if he had thrown the ball away instead of throwing the pick-six, scouts might’ve considered it the right decision.
To add to the Buffs’ misery, their lack of a run game put even more pressure on Shedeur, forcing him to carry the load.
Buffaloes are abysmal in their ‘run game,’ says Sharpe
As the conversation progressed, Ocho suggested that if the Buffs couldn’t block for Shedeur, they should’ve tried shotgun formations. The packages they were running should’ve been longer to give the routes time to develop. However, the Buffaloes failed to make this adjustment, and the Cornhuskers were in Sanders’ face as soon as he dropped back, leaving him no time to read his options.
Sharpe, however, argued that this happened because Nebraska and Matt Rhule knew the Buffs “can’t run the football” adding, “You(Colorado) ran the ball 22 times for 16 yards. That’s negative yards.”
It is clear from the Nebraska game that the Buffs aren’t as ready as fans thought. Yes, Shedeur will have standout performances and Travis Hunter will deliver incredible highlights this season. But whether Deion Sanders can redeem his reputation in CFB remains uncertain after this Saturday.
