- Colorado’s upcoming game against BYU is a critical test for coach Deion Sanders in his third season.
- A loss to BYU would damage Colorado’s chances for a Big 12 title and bowl game eligibility.
- Colorado’s defense, which ranks 121st nationally against the run, will face a challenge from BYU running back LJ Martin.
- Kaidon Salter is now the undisputed starting quarterback after leading the team to a win against Wyoming.
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.
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.
The Buffaloes host undeated No. 24 Brigham Young on Saturday night Sept. 27.
After starting the season with a 2-2 record, are the Buffs a soft and mistake-prone team, like they seemed to be during losses against Georgia Tech and Houston? Or are they a dynamic force to be reckoned with, led by a take-charge quarterback?
The latter is what they appeared to be in a 37-20 win last week against Wyoming. But Wyoming isn’t nearly as good as BYU.
“We gotta win these type of games,” Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday in Boulder. “We gotta be dominant in these type of games. But one thing that we want to do: We want to give our best effort. We don’t want to walk away from the game saying, ‘Dang, we could have played better’ We don’t want to do that like in Houston. We played like garbage, man.”
Why this is a critical game for Deion Sanders
If the Buffs drop another Big 12 Conference game Saturday night, they will fall to 0-2 in league play heading into a road game the next week against undefeated No. 25 TCU.
A loss would severely damage their chances to play for the Big 12 title and even become eligible for a postseason bowl game. A win does the opposite, keeping those dreams within realistic grasp.
The game is a rematch of the Alamo Bowl last December, when BYU won easily, 36-14. But both teams have made big changes since then, most notably at quarterback.
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.
“Yes, I do sense a relief,” Buffaloes defensive lineman Amari McNeill said Tuesday about the resolution at quarterback. “We all got that figured out and… We can do our own job and just worry about dominating.”
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.
Will Colorado’s ‘mini-NFL program’ show its muscle?
It helps Sanders that Colorado’s quarterbacks have receiving targets who have filled in well for Hunter, the departed receiver/cornerback. The big one is 6-5 Sincere Brown, who has touchdown receptions of 71 and 68 yards. He compares himself to Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
“A lot of people like to call me Moss Jr.,” Brown said.
Sanders said he wants Brown to “shine like a Christmas tree” and get more involved.
But Colorado misses Hunter’s playmaking on defense. The Buffs rank 121st nationally in rushing defense, having given up an average of 194.5 yards on the ground.
Now comes BYU running back LJ Martin, who ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. This year, he ranks ninth nationally with 114 rushing yards per game.
Brown, who transferred to Colorado from Campbell, said Colorado is like a “mini-NFL program” with its Pro Football Hall of Famers on staff, including Sanders, running backs coach Marshall Faulk and pass-rush coach Warren Sapp.
How that pro pedigree translates into college coaching success is still an open question, to be answered to some degree with a big physical test Saturday at 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“Every week is a proving ground,” Deion Sanders said.
Perhaps none more so this year than Saturday.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com