Subscribe
Follow Us
During what would end up being a 31-28 home loss to Kansas State, Skip Bayless doubled down on his love of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders' game.
“I'LL SAY IT AGAIN — THE BEST PASSER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS SHEDEUR SANDERS. THE TOUGHEST QB I'VE SEEN IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS SHEDEUR SANDERS, WHO STILL DOESN'T HAVE GREAT PROTECTION. THE CLUTCHEST QB IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS … HIM,” Bayless wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Despite watching three of his top wide receivers go down with an injury, including Heisman candidate Travis Hunter, Sanders lit up the K-State defense to the tune of 388 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. The potential NFL first-round pick threw just six incompletions, one of which was an interception, in the narrow Big 12 loss, Colorado's first of the season.
Sanders now has a conference-best 2,018 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air. His passing yards total ranks fourth in the nation, while his touchdowns are tied for sixth. Additionally, only five quarterbacks have a better completion percentage this season than Sanders.
Despite his heroics, which included an 11-yard touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester to put the Buffaloes ahead with 3:12 left in the game, Kansas State responded with a 50-yard touchdown pass moments later to reclaim the lead. Sanders could not muster a comeback with 2:14 remaining; the senior quarterback threw an incompletion on a fourth-down play Sanders' father and head coach, Deion Sanders, believed should have resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty on Kansas State.
Could Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders be the NFL's No. 1 overall draft pick?
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Sanders is considered one of the best players eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders has shown toughness in his four seasons of college football, especially the last two seasons at Colorado, which has fielded average to subpar offensive lines since Coach Prime's arrival before the 2023 season. Last year, the Buffs allowed 52 sacks, tied for the most in the FBS.
When the 2024 college football season began, ESPN's Field Yates projected Shedeur as a top-five overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Yates said Sanders is “one of the purest throwers of the football that you will study in this class” and called him “surgical” with a “cannon arm” and “incredible accuracy.”
Criticisms of Sanders include that, unlike his Hall-of-Fame father, he does not possess eye-popping athleticism and has, at times, held on to the ball much too long waiting for receivers to get open. His maturity and leadership have also been questioned; after a loss to Nebraska earlier in the season, Sanders received backlash after asking, “How many times did [Nebraska QB Dylan] Raiola get touched?”, which some said was Sanders placing blame on his own offensive line.
Whether you're closer to Bayless' feelings on Sanders or not, the Colorado quarterback will likely be one of the top draft picks next April. And before then, he could, despite the Kansas State loss, help Colorado compete for a Big 12 title.
The Buffaloes are now 2-1 in conference play, but considering the unpredictability of the new-look Big 12, they very well may be a contender at the end of the season. Colorado visits Arizona, which lost to K-State 31-7 earlier in the year, next week.
