Colorado senior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. was hit in the head and briefly knocked unconscious during the second quarter of the Buffaloes’ Big 12 conference opener against Baylor.
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On a critical third-down play, Moore went over the middle to make a catch and absorbed a brutal, high-force hit from a Baylor defender. He remained motionless on the turf for some good amount of time, drawing the immediate attention of medical personnel.
Things heated up when game officials reviewed the play and deemed it a clean, legal hit. This decision immediately drew backlash from Colorado fans online, who criticised the officiating crew for a failure in player safety enforcement.
“How did they not review that for helmet to helmet?” One angry fan commented.
At the time of the incident, Baylor were in the lead 10-3.
“That was definitely helmet to helmet, but why wasn’t it looked at for targeting?” another fan said.
After regaining consciousness, Moore was able to sit up. However, he couldn’t walk without assistance and was carefully helped off the field by Joseph Williams.
Moore was taken straight to the locker room. He has been ruled out for the remainder of the game. Seeing how bad Moore’s situation is, another fan gave his review of the hit being targeted.
“That was the most targeted I’ve ever seen. 2) Moore went unconscious. 3) That was disgusting for his teammates to just glance at him and walk away like that,” the comment read.
One fan was also not happy with Julian Lewis for making a pass that got Moore in a situation like this. The QB delivered the pass slightly behind and high over the middle. This could have forced Moore to extend completely and leave his midsection and head exposed right as the defender converged at full speed.
“Inexcusable pass from Lewis there over the middle getting his guy drilled,” a fan said. “
After Moore was ruled out, Coach Prime made a head-turning decision coming out of the locker room. He benched Julian Lewis for the start of the second half.
Before his benching, Lewis struggled against the Baylor pass rush. He finished the half completing 11-of-16 passes for just 75 yards.
Since then, QBs Isaac Wilson and Joseph Williams have taken the field.
As of the third quarter, the score has gone to 13-6, with the Buffaloes kicking a field goal in the third quarter with 7:14 on the clock. Now, Coach Prime will look to make up for the seven-point deficit in the final quarter.