Colorado has two weeks to sort through a roster that needs answers, and the bye arrives with the Buffaloes in the middle of a three-game slide after a 29-7 loss to Texas Tech. Deion Sanders made it clear after the game that the focus now turns to response and recovery.
“We’re going to right the wrongs, looking to see how some of the young men respond,” coach Deion Sanders said during his post-game conference.
At 2-3, Colorado heads into the break before hosting Utah on Oct. 17, and the staff has reason to take a harder look at four players whose roles could grow coming out of it. Some have barely had a chance. Others have already shown enough to merit more consistent work.
Freshman quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne is the clearest example of a player worth evaluating beyond a narrow package. Colorado has used Isaac Wilson and Julian Lewis as starters this season, but neither has done enough to keep the offense on track during the losing streak. Sweetwyne, meanwhile, got only a tiny sample against Texas Tech.
He opened the game by lining up at receiver and catching a seven-yard pass from Wilson on the first snap. Later, on fourth down from the Red Raiders’ four-yard line, he took another shot and came up empty.
That’s not enough to declare him ready to run the offense, but it is enough to justify more work during the bye. The staff needs a better read on his timing, his decision-making and how he handles the ball before any bigger role comes into play.
Running back Damian Henderson II also earned a longer look. He turned three carries into 19 yards, highlighted by a 12-yard burst, while Colorado’s other backs combined for just 13 yards on 11 attempts. His case only gets stronger when you zoom in on what happened while the game was still in reach: second-quarter runs of 12 and five yards while the Buffs still led.
Henderson added a 20-yard catch on third and 10, though Colorado was already trailing 29-9 at that point. Even so, the bigger question is whether he can do more if he gets more opportunities across a fuller game.
Up front, true freshman Xavier Payne made his first career start at offensive line against Texas Tech. The 6-7, 320-pound lineman now has a real assignment to learn from as offensive line coach Gunnar White gets the group ready for Utah.
Colorado allowed just one sack, but the team stat doesn’t tell the full story of how Payne handled his individual work. The run game, which averaged only 2.4 yards per rush, leaves plenty to fix, and keeping Payne in the mix through the bye would give him a chance to grow inside a line that still needs better production.
Then there’s safety Naeten Mitchell, who showed he can impact the game on defense and still give Colorado something on offense if used carefully. He finished with five tackles, including a four-yard loss on 4th-and-1 in the second quarter that gave the ball back to the Buffs right after their failed fake punt.
Mitchell also carried on that fake, picking up four yards when Colorado needed seven. On top of that, he caught a three-yard pass and drew a deep target late. His defensive stop is the strongest argument for building around him, while any offensive touches need to come with a clear purpose.
Defensive coordinator Chris Marve and the staff now have the bye week to sort out that balance without pulling Mitchell away from what he already does best.
“The score is not indicative of who these guys are and who we are,” Sanders said.
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