Colorado’s offense had one clean moment against No. 12 Texas Tech, and now the Buffaloes are dealing with a mess that could have been a lot worse.
The first drive of the game ended up producing Colorado’s only score, but reports say the opening script for that series was left behind in a hotel bar and ended up in the hands of Texas Tech fans. David Ubben of The Athletic reported that the Red Raiders did not gain access to the playbook, but the sight of Colorado’s material circulating publicly is still a bad look for Deion Sanders’ team.
An anonymous fan using the name VivaTerlingua said they found the playbook in the bar of the Buffaloes’ team hotel on Friday and said they were interested in getting it to Texas Tech. They did not post photos right away, and at first they were not sure it was real.
That uncertainty didn’t last long. Once Colorado’s opening drive unfolded, it became clear the document was authentic. The playbook reportedly included the first six plays of the first half and the first two plays of the second half.
Update: It was real. 1st six plays of the first half and 1st two of the second half (then picked off) https://t.co/M6F018Ib4J pic.twitter.com/BkNt6Ov475
The material also reportedly included the broader set of plays offensive coordinator Brennan Marion could choose from during the game. The fan estimated the book ran about 25 pages, which would be a serious problem if an opponent ever got its hands on it.
Even though Texas Tech didn’t need any help slowing Colorado down, the fallout from the playbook’s appearance is now the bigger issue for the Buffaloes. It raises questions about how the team handles its business, and the optics are ugly after the document was reportedly left in a hotel bar the night before a game.
Colorado has already been under a cloud of character concerns since Sanders cut three players after the Buffaloes’ 41-7 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats, and this latest episode only adds to that noise.
There’s also no time to dwell on it. Colorado is heading into a long bye week, a stretch that should have been used to sharpen the offense and clean up what hasn’t worked through five weeks. Instead, the focus may have to shift to rebuilding the install.
That likely means scrapping most, if not all, of the plays that were exposed, because every future opponent now has a road map. The timing is especially rough with No. 12 Utah Utes next on the schedule.
Colorado’s offense was struggling before this became a story. Isaac Wilson threw for 290 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions against Texas Tech, and whatever happened with the playbook won’t serve as an excuse for that performance.
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