Coming into the 2025 season, everyone wanted to see how Colorado football would look after losing star quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to the NFL. On Friday night, Deion Sanders and his new-look Buffs squad got off on the wrong foot.
Despite a great start, the Buffs faltered late in the game and lost a tight home game to Georgia Tech 27-20. There was plenty of blame to go around for the loss, but the Colorado passing game was right near the top of the list.
New quarterback Kaidon Salter, a highly-touted transfer from Liberty, failed to get on the same page with his receivers for most of the night, and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur didn't seem to have much interest in pushing the ball vertically down the field. Salter did have a few plays where he escaped the pocket and pushed the ball down the field, but misfired most of the time.
One of Salter's best attributes is his scrambling and running ability, and that was also on display throughout the night. After the game, Sanders said that he wants to see more of that from his veteran QB, via ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.
“He's a dual threat, and we want him to be a dual threat,” Sanders said.
Salter did run the ball 13 times for 43 yards and a touchdown while leading the Buffs in carries, so he was still using his legs on a regular basis. However, if Week 1 was any indication, Colorado is going to have to thrive on the ground this season and Salter will be a big part of that.
CU ran for 146 yards as a team on Friday night, clearly improving in that area from the last two seasons where the ground game was essentially nonexistent. However, Salter recorded just 159 yards in the air on 17-for-28 passing.
The biggest problem for Colorado in this game was stopping the run, as Georgia Tech racked up 320 yards on the ground. That included quarterback Haynes King, who ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Colorado also scored just seven points off of three Yellow Jacket turnovers in the first quarter, and Sanders and company will be kicking themselves over those missed opportunities.
Things should get a little bit easier for Colorado moving forward, as it will play Delaware and Wyoming to close out the non-conference slate before beginning Big 12 play. Look for Salter to be a factor on the ground in those games as he gets his feet wet in Boulder.
