Deion Sanders' offseason decision has already come back to bite Colorado

Colorado has a 1-1 record entering a crucial Week 3 rivalry matchup against Colorado State. On paper, the Buffaloes have some glaring red flags that need to be addressed if they're going to find sustained success this season.

The team's offense is terrible in most facets — besides quarterback, naturally. It's dead last in rushing across all FBS teams but it's a Top 10 team in passing. I wonder why that is?

Those red flags fall directly at the feet of head coach Deion Sanders, who hired Pat Shurmur as an analyst in 2023 and promoted him to offensive coordinator this year.

Football fans will remember Shurmur rose to prominence leading the Minnesota Vikings offense in 2017. That team, led by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, rookie running back Dalvin Cook and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, finished 13-3 and fell short of a Super Bowl birth in the NFC championship game to eventual champions Philadelphia.

After that, however, Shurmur's apparent offensive guru schtick fell apart after taking the head coaching job for the floundering New York Giants and then going back to offensive play design, this time for the Denver Broncos. Neither gig worked out for more than two seasons.

Shurmur's offense at Colorado is so bad. (How bad is it?)

Why Sanders thought Shurmur was the guy to run his offense, who the heck knows. It's a conundrum reflected in his son's clear talent at quarterback but dreadful performances everywhere else (sans Travis Hunter, of course).

Shedeur has been sacked six times in two games (five sacks against Nebraska alone) and there is no run game to be had, so the offensive line is a clear issue. Colorado boasts about its high activity in the NCAA transfer portal but in April, over a dozen players left the program and only four committed (only one offensive lineman).

So, based on recent performances, there was not enough attention given to fixing glaring problems.

Colorado barely escaped FCS North Dakota State in Week 1 and then got thoroughly embarrassed by a true freshman quarterback and Nebraska in Week 2. The Buffaloes need a clear and decisive victory in Week 3 to hold off the angry mob in Boulder.

If there's no improvement in the play at offensive line and a run game can't be established, Deion could risk both Shedeur and Hunter's NFL futures if defenses can key in on both of them and potentially injure them.

Colorado defeated Colorado State in an epic overtime game last season (at the cost of Hunter missing time), but the return trip to Fort Collins could prove just as difficult as last week's trip to Lincoln.