Shedeur Sanders made the trip to Bobby Dodd Stadium on Thursday night, and his presence on the Colorado sideline was one of the more eye-catching developments during the Buffaloes’ season opener against Georgia Tech.
CBS News Colorado Buffaloes reporter Romi Bean spotted Sanders walking down to the sideline after flying in from Cleveland to support his former team. The former Colorado star, now a second-year Browns quarterback, arrived as the game was still getting underway and appeared to make his entrance early in the third quarter, where he was greeted by the Buffaloes.
Colorado’s opener was already dealing with a weather delay, with lightning in the area pushing kickoff back 20 minutes. Once play finally started, Sanders got a front-row view of Colorado’s new “Go-Go” offense in action.
It was not the cleanest start for the Buffaloes. Julian “JuJu” Lewis, Sanders’ successor at quarterback, had a rough time controlling the football in humid, slippery conditions. He lost his grip several times, including on a questionable fumble late in the second quarter that was overturned to an incomplete pass because Lewis’ hand was moving forward.
A botched center-to-quarterback exchange on the same drive was even more costly. Lewis recovered the ball, but the play lost a pile of yards and forced Colorado to punt.
The passing game never fully settled in either. Lewis missed throws, his receivers had trouble hanging on, and he also looked shaky with his feet, including missing a pair of deep shots in the first quarter. His best completions came on inside crossers, with Texas wide receiver transfer DeAndre Moore doing much of the work there.
Colorado did move the ball on longer drives, but those possessions still ended with punts. Lewis looked more comfortable when handing the ball off, and the Buffaloes leaned on a rebuilt offensive line that included former Georgia offensive tackle Bo Hughley. Running backs Micah Welch and Damian Henderson II handled much of the ground-game work with Deion Sanders’ son watching from the sideline.
Sanders’ Colorado run left a clear mark. He arrived in Boulder after a decorated stretch at Jackson State and made an immediate impact, throwing for 510 yards in his Buffaloes debut against TCU in the 2023 season opener. Colorado still finished 4-8 that year.
The next season was a different story. Sanders helped guide Colorado to a 9-4 record and a bowl appearance in the school’s return to the Big 12. He completed 74 percent of his passes and threw 37 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, while Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy.
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