Deion Sanders isn’t losing sleep over the idea that Colorado’s offensive script may have been left behind before the Buffaloes’ loss to Texas Tech.
Asked about the rumor during Tuesday’s press conference ahead of this weekend’s game against 11th-ranked Utah, Sanders acknowledged that a call sheet had been dropped and later found, but he brushed off the significance almost as quickly as he addressed it.
“A whole playbook? Somebody left a whole playbook, or was it a script of several plays?
I don't think we even have a whole playbook,” Sanders said. “I think week to week they get a script.
I thought we scored the first drive, so what's the purpose of the question? Why would we (look into that)?
The game's over.
“We probably know a lot more than you think we do. That happens sometimes.
I've heard of that on the pro level as well as the collegiate level. But we scored on the first drive, so I guess it didn't work.”
The speculation started the night before Colorado’s 29-7 loss, when a fan on a Texas Tech message board said the Buffaloes’ game script had been found at the bar inside the team hotel. The fan did not post photos on the board at the time, but images later appeared on social media before kickoff, and they appeared to line up with Colorado’s opening sequence.
Sanders’ point was simple: even if Texas Tech had seen the first chunk of the plan, it didn’t change the result on the field.
Colorado opened by going 75 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. That was the Buffaloes’ only score in the loss.
Pressed further on whether the situation mattered, Sanders kept the door closed on any extended debate.
“I think if someone had left that, they left it, mistake,” Sanders said. “What are we going to do about it?
It's over. Let's go.
Let's go. Let's go.
We could have the opposing team's first 10-15 plays, but we still have to stop it. When you get something like that, do you really trust it as a coach?
Was it a dummy script or was that real? That's what you're thinking as a coach.”
There is at least some precedent for that kind of gamesmanship. Sanders pointed to the possibility of decoys being used to mislead opponents, and the source noted Mike Leach famously left a fake playbook in the trash can ahead of the Red River Rivalry against Texas when he was an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
The bigger issue for Colorado remains the offense itself. The Buffaloes are searching for answers again, and this week Sanders is turning back to Isaac Wilson as the starter against unbeaten Utah.
Wilson transferred from Utah this offseason and began the year as the backup to Julian Lewis before earning first-team reps after impressing Sanders and the Colorado staff during a Week 4 loss at Baylor.
He struggled last week against Texas Tech, throwing for 290 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
“Isaac's always up to the task,” Sanders said. “Isaac is the same Isaac, man.
He don't flinch. He don't place blame.
He is what he is.”
Through Week 7, Colorado sits 14th in the Big 12 in total offense, last in scoring offense and last in turnover margin at minus-6.
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