Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders is facing what USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer calls the biggest test in the post-Travis Hunter/Shedeur Sanders era on Saturday night: a ranked BYU Cougars squad that whooped his Buffs the last time they played in December’s Alamo Bowl.
Schrotenboer stressed how important this game was for Kaidon Salter, in particular. If Salter falters, Coach Prime may have to open up his two-man quarterback competition again. To this point, Salter and Ryan Staub have only looked good against Group of 5 competition.
“The quarterback controversy at Colorado is finally over now apparently, bringing an admitted sense of ‘relief’ to the Buffaloes after sorting through three players at that position in the first three games,” Schrotenboer wrote.
“But now comes a telling test for Deion Sanders in his third season as Colorado’s coach. And it’s probably the biggest one yet for him since he lost several top players to the NFL from last year’s team, including Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and his quarterback son Shedeur.
“At Colorado, Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter engineered the win against Wyoming, throwing three touchdown passes and running for another. He’s the undisputed top QB now, not Ryan Staub, who started the Houston game, or Julian Lewis, the freshman who recently turned 18.
“But what if Salter has a bad game? That’s another reason this game is a big one for Sanders. He doesn’t want to go back to rotating quarterbacks.”
In the bigger picture, Coach Prime can survive a season of bad QB play. He’s not going to be fired under any circumstances. His son’s legacy will have better optics, since Shedeur may prove to be irreplaceable.
The talk of his retirement will intensify if this season doesn’t get back on the rails, but he’ll probably make that decision on his own volition, regardless of Colorado’s record.
BYU is a make-or-break matchup for fans of the Buffs hoping this year’s team can make a magical run to the Big 12 championship, but it’s not going to be the beginning of the end unless Coach Prime was planning for that anyway.