Colorado’s Week 2 victory against Delaware wasn’t just a return to the norm. More importantly, the game showed that Deion Sanders may have landed on his ideal replacement for Shedeur Sanders. The Buffs began the season riding on Kaidon Salter’s shoulders, but he didn’t grab the bull by its horns against Georgia Tech. That left room for the backups to come in and steal the spot. Exactly what Ryan Staub did in Week 2. A sigh of relief! Finally, Coach Prime had his quarterback. Did he, though?

The Week 3 game against Houston didn’t follow from the highs of the Delaware game. Instead, the Cougars made their guests return to what they felt against Georgia Tech. A 36-20 loss, but to make matters worse, another game that Colorado let slip in the second half. Ryan Staub finished with 19-of-35 for 204 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Perhaps his best moment came during a two-minute drill late in the second quarter. He connected on passes of 36 and 25 yards before running for a 19-yard touchdown. Other than that, it was like we were seeing Kaidon Salter all over again.

That begs the question. What now? Even ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is wondering the same. He put a post on X mocking Sanders’ rotation of QBs, saying, “Who will play quarterback for Colorado next week?” And can we blame him? The Buffs faithful may say that you can’t judge the QB play if your offense is one-dimensional. The run game never got going. Colorado managed merely 60 yards on 21 carries. 38 of those came on one play. However, the run game was bad last year as well. Shedeur Sanders didn’t let the team feel the full brunt of it.

Compare that to how Salter and Staub have handled the offense so far this season. In the game against the Cougars, Ryan Staub’s throws were inconsistent and off-target because of miscommunication with his receivers, Joseph Williams and Omarion Miller. Then Colorado’s struggles to sustain drives left fans and coaches frustrated, raising questions about whether Staub or anyone on the current QB rotation can lead the team effectively. In contrast, Houston’s quarterback Conner Weigman excelled in both passing and running, throwing for 222 yards and adding 83 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns. This disparity in performance made it nearly impossible for Colorado to mount a comeback in the second half.

And here comes the worst part. Even Deion Sanders accepts that he made a blunder on the field. “Ryan) Staub didn’t play well … I saw what you saw,” Deion said. And that’s how you know they messed up. But he didn’t just stop there. Deion Sanders also talks about the QB situation moving ahead in the season. “I have no idea right now … I’m trying to self-analyze what I can do better.” But offense wasn’t the only problem in the game.

Colorado’s defensive struggles

Colorado’s defense had a rough outing against Houston, surrendering a total of 431 yards, with 209 of those coming on the ground. Dean Connors and Connor Weigman exploited the Buffaloes’ front seven, finding openings and capitalizing on missed assignments. Even when the defense managed to halt Houston’s progress, they consistently converted crucial third downs, keeping Colorado under pressure. The Buffs’ struggles to contain big plays early on set the tone, forcing the unit to play catch-up from the very beginning.

On top of that, injuries also hampered the defensive efforts. They were without nine players, which depleted their depth along the line and in the secondary. Although key offensive players like Omarion Miller and Dallan Hayden returned, the defensive side lacked reinforcements, pushing backups into high-stakes scenarios. The absence of starters slowed down reactions and limited the Buffs’ ability to rotate players effectively, which led to fatigue later in the game.

Sanders’ team also struggled with communication and missed assignments, which directly resulted in points for Houston. This included a 54-yard touchdown pass from Weigman to Stephon Johnson in the final quarter. Even when they did make tackles, missed assignments let runners like Connors pick up extra yards, keeping drives alive and tiring out the defense. Now, another big test comes up against BYU, and if they fail to make an impact, this season might turn really ugly for the Colorado Buffs.