The Colorado Buffaloes sit at 4-2 as college football eclipses the halfway point of the season. If their game against a ranked Kansas State Wildcats team was the midterm exam, then the Buffs technically failed but came away with reason for encouragement.
Expectations between local fans and national media have been extremely mixed, and the Buffs have shown to be equally unpredictable. From not showing up against Nebraska, winning on a Hail Mary against Baylor, to upsetting a heavy favorite UCF team, Colorado has made a product that has been entertaining at the very least. That doesn’t mean the Buffs are bowl-bound yet, but they do find themselves in control of their own destiny.
Halfway down, here’s the report card on the Buffs’ positional groups.
Quarterback: A-
Shedeur Sanders has not crumbled under the expectations that come with being the son of Deion Sanders. If anything he’s inherited his father’s unwavering confidence and calm demeanor in tight games. He has not been the perfect quarterback, but you’d be hard-pressed to find much better right now as he currently nationally ranks:
2nd in pass completions
4th in pass yards
6th in pass touchdowns
His production this year has kept Colorado in many games they otherwise wouldn’t be, and he’s improved his draft stock from a fringe first-round talent to a potential top pick in the NFL draft.
Sanders has had his missteps at times. His poise bleeds into a lack of urgency, his rare interceptions tend to be bad ones, and he tends to take the occasional unnecessary sack. Otherwise, he’s been incredibly accurate at every level of the field, has the mobility to keep defenses honest, and hangs in the pocket until the last second sometimes taking a big hit to deliver a well-thrown ball.
Sanders has been the lifeline to this offense and displays a level of reliability rare at the college level. He’s been nothing short of excellent in his senior season.
Receivers: A+
If Shedeur is the conductor, the pass catchers have been the locomotive of this high-octane passing offense. Led by Travis Hunter who's currently second in Heisman odds, the Buffs typically run a spread attack that could feature one of any four receivers at a time.
Four different receivers have led a game in yards for the Buffs at different points; Travis Hunter, Omarion Miller, Will Sheppard, and Jimmy Horn Jr.
That doesn’t even account for LaJohntay Wester, who leads the team in touchdowns and caught the Hail Mary pass against Baylor.
The Buffs have the best of both worlds with a single elite receiver capable of taking over any game along with the extreme depth and flexibility of multiple playmakers and must specifically be accounted for by any defensive coordinator.
Running Backs: D-
Everything the Buffs passing weapons are, the run game is not. The ground attack can hang their hats on two games against Colorado State and UCF where they were effective and efficient, gaining 100+ yards in both contests. The common thread, however, was that Colorado was firmly ahead and in control in both games, winning by double digits and having the time and game script in their favor to allow for the run game to thrive.
Against tougher opponents and in closer matches, the run game is all but abandoned. Against Kansas State, the team ran for 29 yards on 19 attempts, which may sound bad but was actually better than the 22 attempts for 16 yards they got against Nebraska.
At this time, Colorado has three rushers with 23+ attempts, and none are sticking out, gaining 336 yards between them on 82 total attempts. The only factor keeping their grade from being lower is that the offensive line isn’t doing much for them (and vice versa), as they’re semi-effective in the passing game and have been usable on the goal line with five total touchdowns. Otherwise, we’ll need to see someone break out and take over this backfield unless the Buffs plan to keep using an ineffective committee.
Offensive Line: F
The good news is technically this group has improved from last year, when Colorado was dead last in the nation (133rd) in sacks allowed per game (4.7). The bad news is they’ve only improved one spot (132nd) and allow nearly the same rate (4.6).
Unfortunately, this decides some games before they get started. Shedeur Sanders was sacked six times against Nebraska which completely stunted the offense until the game was out of hand. Protections are slightly improved against lesser opponents like North Dakota State and UCF, but we’ve seen the line fail too many times in important games to have much faith.
The run game isn’t doing much better behind this line and is often scripted out despite attempts to make it a part of the offense. This isn’t doing anyone any favors, as the one-dimensional aspect of the offense puts a lot of pressure on this line to hold up against pass rushers with their ears pinned back wanting to get a hit on Shedeur.
If this group can find their groove and the right combination of starters, then maybe they’ll improve their grade over the back half of the season. Until then, there isn’t much lower for them to go.
Defensive Line: C
The Colorado defensive line leaves a lot to be desired, and yet it’s only because of the expectations they set. This unit can be explosive and at times look dominant, such as shutting down the prominent UCF run game, nearly shutting out Colorado State, or successfully shutting out Nebraska in the second half.
Then there are times when they’ll get run off the field, like the first half against Nebraska, or when DJ Giddens went for over 200 total yards.
This unit is deep, as they have 14 total sacks and at least one from 10 different players. This causes problems for offenses who can’t key in on and take a single disruptor out of the game plan. But when they run into a talented offense, they also don’t have that entity to take over a game. This group is a constant balancing act between good and not good.
Secondary: B+
Colorado’s secondary is another unit led by Travis Hunter, who has typically taken the team’s toughest assignments, but the depth behind him in DJ McKinney and Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig has given the Buffs secondary the flexibility to take on most passing attacks. They’ve let a few quarterbacks get through the cracks on occasion, but a lot of their struggles could be linked back to the pass rush not getting to the quarterback on time.
The defense has given up less than 200 yards passing twice and a completion percentage less than 60 three times as well as allowing only eight touchdowns through the air. North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller has had the most success back in the season opener, completing 18-of-22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. From this point on though, the defensive backs have cleaned up their issues but have still been susceptible to a big play: a 30-yard touchdown against Baylor, a 70-yard touchdown against UCF, and what would be the game-winning touchdown for 50 yards against Kansas State.
Special Teams: D+
It makes sense that this unit has struggled mightily at times after firing its coordinator shortly before the season and relying on underlings to take his place. Those growing pains were evident against Baylor, who returned a kickoff for a score and averaged nearly 30 yards per return on punts.
Against Nebraska, Colorado had a short field goal attempt blocked which would have put the team on the board before the half but instead led to another Nebraska score, going into halftime 28-0.
This unit has started to get its act together in the last couple of games, going almost mistake-free. Kicker Alexander Mata has been fairly reliable this season, going 5/6 outside of the blocked kick and not missing an extra-point attempt.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement that we’ve already started to see, but this part of the team has been without a doubt a reason for their struggles so far.
Cover photo by Brody Rector/Sko Buffs Sports
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