The Colorado Buffaloes have taken a modern approach when designing their offense for the season.
In Tuesday's press conference, CU head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and left guard Justin Mayers addressed how a combined effort leads to their game plan. Colorado has already made changes from a week ago and Mayers has taken in the coaching.
“Coach Phil (Loadholt), Coach Gunnar (White) and Coach G(ary Harrell) are pushing us to the limit every day and making sure we're A1 on our calls and know who's thinking what. It's just flowing good,” Mayers said.
Nebraska will play physically and look to take advantage of a rowdy home crowd. Communication will be a must for the offense to be successful. With the expected crowd noise, everyone has to understand the calls.
“Their game on both sides of the ball is really their trenches,” Mayers said. “Probably O-line and D-line for them. We know their personnel, we’re studying them pretty hard, so I'm not really worried about the size. As long as we rely on our technique and be aggressive, I think we should be good.”
The confidence shown by Mayers has been shared by the rest of the offense. The run-pass option will be in effect once again for the Buffs.
“I feel like we can do both, we can pass and run. I feel the play calls and system we have this year really opens us up to do that,” Mayers said. “Of course we want Shedeur (Sanders) to throw for 10,000 (yards), we want our running backs to get a thousand yards. I think as the games go on, it's going to get easier and easier.”
Sanders echoed many of those same feelings. He acknowledged the work being done by the offensive line and their O-line coach in Loadholt.
“Those guys have a tremendous relationship with one another as well,” Sanders said. “They hold each other tremendously accountable. I feel like they have one of the best offensive line coaches in the country in Phil.”
From a practice standpoint, the coaching staff has done everything possible. Simulated crowd noise, game scenarios and travel procedures have all been covered. Sanders wants all his players to be focused.
“We wanna prepare our guys in all aspects of the game,” Sanders said. “The mental part of it, we may stop practice right in the middle and put them on the line and condition them and try to fatigue them a little bit to see how they respond.”
These elements are designed to help the offense prepare for realistic game scenarios. One of the biggest pieces of playcalling is the opening script. Typically an offensive coordinator will “script” or plan out 10-15 plays they will call at the start of the half. Sanders explained Colorado’s method.
“The best coordinators, they have a tremendous relationship with their quarterback. You come up with it collectively,” Sanders said. “It's not just a Shedeur thing, it's not just a Pat (Shurmur) thing, it's not just a me thing.”
Ultimately, Sanders and the staff will go with their gut on big decisions. The new plays have already been introduced, and the ones they did not like have been tossed. Each week, the game of chess continues for the staff.
“Sometimes you want so much for these kids and they may not do what you want them to do, but you gotta believe what you see and go with what you saw,” Sanders concluded.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
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