Shedeur Sanders addresses Colorado's offensive playcaller change
Colorado looked a little different on Saturday. Ahead of the team’s matchup against Oregon State, head coach Deion Sanders promoted quality control analyst Pat Shurmur to an on-field assistant role. Shurmur replaced Sean Lewis as the team’s primary playcaller.
Despite the significant change, Colorado found a similar result. The Buffaloes fell 26-19 to Oregon State, their third loss in a row. After the game, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders weighed in on how the play-calling change affected the outing.
“It’s not really a big change. We are all in this together,” Sanders said. “We use the same concepts, same everything. I mean, it’s football. Everybody has the same concepts. It’s just you see it in different ways.
“Overall, I liked it. Either way, I don’t really have a preference or anything. If that’s the decision, I just go with it and execute [for] whoever is calling the plays.”
Colorado’s offense was unreliable in the loss, tallying just 238 total yards. Worse, the team’s ground game was non-existent. Colorado recorded -7 rushing yards against the Beavers. Behind center, Sanders completed 24-of-his-39 pass attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
No fun for Colorado without success
While it’s a respectable performance, it’s a subpar showing for Sanders. The 6-foot-2 junior came into the game as the nation’s second-leading passer with a 337-yard average. Sanders believes the team lacks the joy it once had.
“Every time we stepped on the field, we made sure to make things fun. That’s how I feel we got to get back to overall as a program,” the standout QB said. “We just gotta get back to having fun, and you only have fun when you start dominating and having success. You can’t have fun when you’re losing.”
Shurmur has the resumé to return the fun for the Buffaloes. Shurmur was the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos in 2020 and 2021. He also previously spent time as the offensive coordinator of the Rams, Eagles and Vikings, along with stints as the head coach of the Giants and Browns.
Shurmur’s first performance as Colorado’s primary play-caller didn’t reflect his impressive history. Nonetheless, Deion Sanders isn’t doubting Shurmur’s ability.
“I made a decision to help this team win,” Deion Sanders said after the game. “You guys don’t know all the intangibles in it, you just from the outside of the crib looking in. I got tinted windows and you can’t even see in the house but you’re making conclusions on what I should or should not do.”