Kirk Herbstreit explains which side of the ball Colorado will miss Travis Hunter the most

On Saturday morning’s episode of ESPN College GameDay, analyst Kirk Herbstreit explained which side of the football Colorado will miss Travis Hunter most.

The former top recruit is one of the pistons powering this tremendous Colorado story. After spurring the major programs and committing to Sanders back at Jackson State, the double-sided star again followed Coach Prime to Boulder, where he began the year playing more than 150 snaps as the top wideout and starting cornerback in the win vs. TCU.

However, a few weeks into Hunter’s season, he was careened by an illegal late hit which caused a laceration in his liver, thus forcing him to miss the next several games. Since he plays both sides of the football and does so at a high level, his loss will be felt across the board. On GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit broke down the side of the ball where he’ll be missed more.

“Definitely defensively,” answered Herbstreit. “You’re talking about Bo Nix’s offense right now scoring over 50 a game. They can run the football, they can throw the football, they’re at home. They got energy. I think that’s the area. I mean, you’re talking about the elite corner in the game, and when you take him off, the field, that’s just where they’ve been vulnerable.”

CU’s defense has certainly been the weaker unit on the team and losing a playmaker at the corner position certainly hurts — especially ahead of their toughest defensive test yet vs. Bo Nix and his talented wideouts.

While Hunter’s absence puts even more pressure on the offense to produce, Herbstreit notes that you can’t count out the Buffalo offense and Shedeur Sanders after the show they’ve put on week after week.

“I think we all marveled at what Colorado’s done this year, and a lot of it’s been about Shedeur Sanders. Even last week it looked like they were out of the game and you get the ball in his hands and you don’t know what he’s capable of doing. Again, that was without Travis Hunter. So I’m excited to see how he and the offense play.”

Oregon will score and likely score a lot, especially with Hunter down. That’s why Herbstreit is placing the onus on the Colorado offense to keep the Buffs competitive.

“Bo Nix is gonna get his, the Ducks are going to score. But as we all know, Autzen isn’t the biggest stadium, but it’s one of the loudest.

“Much like Ohio State, I’m anxious to see how Colorado’s offense executes against an athletic defense, and again, a tough environment. We all learned to believe in this offense, but if they hang around, they’re going to have to win it in a shootout.”