Deion preaches ‘the process’ as Buffs are up to 4-5

• Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterNov 5, 2023, 02:11 AM ET

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  • College football press reporter.
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
  • Graduate of Northwestern University.BOULDER, Colo.– Colorado

coach Deion Sanders said he had no remorses about making an offending playcaller change before Saturday night’s 26-19 loss to No. 16 Oregon State, keeping in mind”a whole lot of intangibles” caused his decision.Buffaloes analyst Pat Shurmur, the previous coach of the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, took over playcalling responsibilities and rose to co-offensive planner. Sean Lewis, who had actually called offensive plays for Colorado’s very first 8 games, stayed in the co-coordinator role and dealt with the quarterbacks while signaling in plays from the sideline. Tight ends coach Tim Brewster moved into an off-field function to include Shurmur as the 10th assistant.Colorado’s offense had a hard time strongly through 3 quarters, producing simply 78 backyards and three offensive points, before surging in the 4th quarter for 160 lawns and two touchdowns. After starting 3-0, the Buffaloes have actually dropped 5 of six games and are below.500 for the first time under Sanders.”We’re not going to demean Sean Lewis; we’re not going to take that tone,”Sanders said.”Sean is an excellent male; I believe he is an excellent playcaller.

We simply needed change at the time. We required to attempt something else at the time, which’s what we did. I do not reflect on it. I don’t second-guess myself whatsoever, due to the fact that there’s more to it than what you may know. “Let’s simply rely on the procedure. “Sanders did not disclose details of what added to the modification, although he stated Shurmur and previous NFL player Dennis Thurman

, the team’s director of quality of control for defense, sit by his side during staff meetings and have been relied on consultants throughout the season. Shurmur last served in a playcalling role as Denver Broncos offensive planner in 2021. Under Lewis, Colorado scored 36 or more points in 4 of its first five games and averaged 500.3 yards in those four contests. The offense had actually been less productive in two

of the past 3 games and produced only 16 points and 242 lawns in last week’s loss at UCLA.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated “I’m not going to divulge all my thoughts, guy– my ideas are my ideas,”Sanders stated. “Just know that I decided and I do not stumble or stutter on it, and I’m not recalling.

It is what it is,

which’s

what it’s going to be. I make a decision to help this group win. You guys don’t understand all the intangibles yet. You’re simply looking from the outside of the baby crib, searching in. “I got tinted windows and you can’t even see in your home, however you’re making conclusions on what I should and must refrain from doing.” Lewis left his post as Kent State’s coach after five seasons and brought his up-tempo offense to Colorado under Sanders.Quarterback Shedeur Sanders set a Colorado single-game group passing record( 510 backyards )in the season opener and rose to become one of the country’s passing leaders, but he also repeatedly took sacks and strikes as the offensive line struggled.Sanders continued to take penalty versus Oregon State, which tape-recorded 4 sacks, three by linebacker Andrew Chatfield, and 7 quarterback hurries. He quickly went to the locker space in the 2nd half before going back to toss both touchdown passes and finish with 245 passing backyards.”What kind of guy would I appear like, leaving all 80 of us out there hanging

?”Shedeur Sanders stated.”It’s got to be life-or-death circumstance for me to just leave everyone hanging like that. The discomfort of not being there for them bypasses the discomfort that’s going through my body.”In the first half, Colorado benefited from 2 Oregon State fumbles, both inside the Beavers’ 30-yard line, but generated only 15 overall backyards on the taking place belongings and scored simply 3 points. Besides two pass interference calls, Colorado’s long gain in the very first half was 11 backyards, and the offense ended up the half with 52 overall yards( 1.7 backyards per play)and just 2 net yards in the 2nd quarter. Shedeur Sanders finished with his most affordable first-half passing overall(41 lawns )of the season.The Buffaloes didn’t eclipse the 100-yard mark until early in the fourth quarter, when they strung together their first 3 plays of longer than 13 backyards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Travis Hunter. “It’s not truly a big modification, you understand– we’re all in this together,”Shedeur Sanders stated of the playcaller switch, adding that he has no preference on who calls plays.”We use the exact same ideas, very same everything, I mean, it’s football.” Sanders, who got

up gradually from the interview table after the game and appeared to be limping a bit, stated that the” grit and discomfort “from the past six weeks will serve him and Colorado much better in the long run. Deion Sanders applauded his group for

fighting back versus Oregon State but acknowledged what the group has lost after its hot start.Colorado must win two of its final 3 games– in the house versus Arizona and on the road against Washington State and Utah– to end up being bowl-eligible.”The enthusiasm of that first game, the passion of those [early] games, we’re missing that,”Deion Sanders stated. “That’s something we’re attempting to capture and find.”