There are all kinds of statistics that they keep on college quarterbacks and the PAC-12 has numerous guys packed in the Top-10 of most of those. Shedeur Sanders is third on the list for most passing yards at 2,637—behind only Michael Penix-Jr and Caleb Williams; he’s 10th in the nation in pass completion percentage at 71.1%, trailing only Bo Nix in the PAC-12; he’s fourth for passing TD’s at 22, trailing only Williams, Penix-Jr, and Jayden Daniels who’s the QB for LSU but used to be the QB for Arizona State; and he’s first on the list for pass completions at 246—a list whose Top-10 also includes three other PAC-12 QB’s in Cameron Ward, Bo Nix, and Penix-Jr. There’s one more list that Sanders tops and the QB’s below him stand no chance of passing him by before the end of the year. With an average of over 5 per game and 41 on the season, Shedeur Sanders is the most sacked QB in the FBS and is on pace to set an NCAA record that I’m sure he has no desire to own. And 41 is just the number of times he has been sacked in the first eight games of the year. He’s been hit way more than that—55 times just through the first three games. It has become almost painful to watch a Colorado game and Sanders was limping by the end of this one—limping but not complaining. Coach Prime has raised both of his kids to approach life and the game of football with a philosophy of not blaming their struggles on others. As Deion has said in the past; “That was understood around the crib that you’re gonna be mentally and physically tough. Shedeur don’t complain . . . it [would be] easy for him to sit up here and say I’m getting hit left, right, [and] in between . . . but he does not complain. He’s not gonna throw his linemen under the bus. He’s not gonna do any of that, that’s just who he is.” He may not complain but I can. Coach Prime did a great job of recruiting the skill positions but left the line thin and I can only imagine the personal anguish—and in this case guilt—he is most likely experiencing every time he sees his son get hit. It’s up to him to fix this before the start of next season. If he does and can bring back all the highly talented skill players that they recruited, Colorado could be a hell of a team to be reckoned with in 2024.
The Colorado defense kept the Buffaloes in this one with cornerback Travis Hunter’s two spectacular interceptions and the forced fumbles of UCLA RB Carson Steele, the first by Shilo Sanders before he was ejected for targeting. But the game ball goes to the UCLA defense who held Sanders to just one passing TD and Colorado to more than three hundred less total yards of offense than the Buffaloes gained against their cross-town rival USC. Colorado started off by marching right down the field on their first possession but after three consecutive pass incompletions by Sanders and getting bogged down on UCLA’s 10 yard line, Alejandro Mata came in and hit a 31 yard field goal to put Colorado up 3-0. Mata got another opportunity just three minutes later after Travis Hunter’s first interception of UCLA QB Ethan Garbers’ pass on their own 36 yard line. This time the Buffaloes got stuck on the 21 yard line and sent Mata back in who converted another field goal, this one from 39 yards and half-way through the 1st Qtr Colorado was up 6-0—easy peasy.
After back-to-back punts by both teams, UCLA finally got on the board at the end of a nine play, 60 yard drive ending with a 3 yard TD pass to Junior RB Carson Steele from QB Ethan Garbers to put UCLA out in front 7-6 to start the 2nd Qtr. Colorado was able to stop the Bruins from expanding that lead when the Buffalo defense forced Carson Steele to fumble down in the red zone on UCLA’s next possession. But on the sixth play of Colorado’s subsequent drive, after an incomplete pass and a sack for a loss of seven yards, the Buffaloes were forced to punt the ball back to the Bruins. No problem, here comes Colorado Sophomore Cornerback Travis Hunter for his second interception of the game, this one against UCLA’s third back-up QB, Junior Collin Schlee. It created a gold opportunity for Colorado to take the lead back. But after a run for a loss and another sack the Buffaloes couldn’t move the ball and had to kick it back. It would be the first of back-to-back three-and-outs. Unfortunately the Bruins couldn’t capitalize on either, missing a 24 yard field goal on the first and fumbling the ball on the second. At the break the score was still UCLA 7, Colorado 6.
The Bruins didn’t waste any time after the half and were up 14-6 with barely a half-minute gone in the 3rd Qtr after QB Ethan Garbers connected with Logan Lola for 49 yards and Moliki Matavao for a 26 yard TD pass. Colorado would be held to a three-and-out on their first possession but hit another field goal on their second to close the gap a little at 14-9. But UCLA would score back-to-back rushing TD’s to go up 28-9 half-way through the 4th Qtr. Colorado would make the score a little more respectable at 28-16 on a Sheduer Sanders’ TD pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. but with just 2:37 left to play in the game that’s as close as they’d get.
Sanders and the Colorado running game were under severe distress all game long by the UCLA defense who accounted for a staggering 7 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. After averaging 3 TD’s a game through the first seven, Sheduer was held to a single score in this one while connecting on 27-of-43 for 217 yards. On the ground the Buffaloes did little more than just run-in-place, rushing 24 times for a dismal 25 yards. For UCLA, Junior QB Ethan Garbers connected on 74% of his passes for 269 yards, 2 TD’s—one each to RB Carson Steele and TE Moliki Matavao—and 1 interception while also rushing nine times for another 37 yards. On the ground, RB’s TJ Harden and Carson Steele combined for over 150 of UCLA’s 218 total rushing yards with Hardin and QB Collin Schlee picking up a TD each.
After scoring just seven points through the first half while throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice, the Bruins scored 21 after the break. The AP reported that UCLA Head Coach Chip Kelly had a simple message for his team during half-time and when asked about that he said; “I had to remind our kids that this was Halloween, not Christmas. We need to stop giving away gifts. And let’s just make sure that it’s Halloween, so let’s put your scary masks on and go play.” As far as scary goes, the Bruin defense is all of that—top of the PAC-12 and Top 10 nationally regarding rushing yards allowed per game at. 63.1 and points at 15. UCLA hits the road to take on another team this next Saturday that has been taking defense seriously—Arizona, while Colorado limps back home to host Oregon State.