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The Buffs offense struggled early, but here’s how they got things going.
It wasn’t smooth sailing the whole way for Colorado in their 41-27 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. Early in the game, Colorado’s offense struggled to get things going and the team faced a 13-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter. By this point, the Buffaloes had been limited to just 21 yards of offense and one first down in 15 full minutes off football, leaving fans wondering just what was going wrong.
For those up in the press box, it was easy to see what was amiss, and fortunately, it was a straightforward adjustment for experienced offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Here at Ralphie Report, we’re going to talk about how one incredibly simple adjustment jumpstarted the Colorado offense and led CU to victory.
The Adjustment:
Before we dive into what changed for the Buffs, it’s important to understand what Texas Tech was doing well to keep Colorado’s offense from building momentum or gaining yards.
TTU’s defense put together a very simple game plan: stop the run game and prevent Shedeur Sanders from beating them over the top. To execute this, the Red Raiders focused eight defenders on the run game and relied on their cornerbacks in the secondary. The only problem with this approach was that the Texas Tech secondary was playing 10 yards off the ball, and Pat Shurmur knew he could exploit that.
The Buffs’ fifth drive is where things began to click. They saw the same defensive scheme again, and Shurmur realized he’d have the wide receiver screen available all day with the corners playing so soft. On this drive, Shedeur threw the screen pass on three of the six plays, eventually leading to a big gain for LaJohntay Wester and Colorado’s first touchdown of the game. When the Buffs came out for their next drive, Shurmur probably expected Texas Tech’s secondary to adjust and play closer to the line of scrimmage, but no such change happened. In fact, Texas Tech never made this adjustment, and the Buffaloes continued to use screens to move the ball effectively up the field.
Two of Shedeur’s three touchdown passes came from screens, accounting for over half of his total of 291 passing yards on the day. The screens worked for Colorado until the final whistle and were largely responsible for the Buffaloes’ offensive success. This performance demonstrated that not only does Shedeur have the ability to succeed with the deep ball, but more importantly, his real talent lies in distributing the football. With this performance in the books, I see no reason why Shedeur Sanders shouldn’t be considered for the number one overall pick come spring.
How Can CU Start Stronger?
It’s all about game planning for the Buffs. Shurmur is proving he’s a master at making in-game adjustments and designing plays to target the matchups he wants to exploit, but he can sometimes be a step behind when predicting defensive strategies. This shouldn’t be too concerning for Buffaloes fans at this point because what’s truly important for an offensive coordinator is the ability to be dynamic and adaptable—qualities Shurmur has repeatedly demonstrated. He has a play ready for any situation and Buffaloes fans should feel confident in their play caller.
Outlook:
With Iowa State losing and the Buffs securing a win, Colorado now moves into second place in the conference. If the Buffs can win out, they’ll be guaranteed a spot in the Big 12 conference championship, giving the Sanders boys a chance to head home to Dallas to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
While this win was monumental for the Buffs, it wasn’t always a pretty one. They have plenty of work ahead of them, and they’ll need to keep improving if they want to compete in the College Football Playoff this postseason. The Buffs have shown improvement in every single game this season, so Buffaloes fans should start feeling confident about this team going forward. As always, be sure to keep up with Ralphie Report’s coverage in the run-up to the Buffaloes’ next game against Utah on Saturday.
by Jacob.Thompson
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