Colorado is 2-3, 0-2 in the Big 12, and three straight losses have turned the season into a mess fast. The quarterbacks are getting blamed, special teams has been embarrassing, and the Texas Tech loss only poured more gasoline on it. But Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway think everyone is staring at the wrong problem. Because what they see in Boulder is a lot more troubling than one bad position group.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
During an appearance on Nonstop with Kirk Herbstreit, the two analysts dug into Colorado’s problems, with Galloway arguing that some of the most troubling issues have little to do with talent and more to do with basic operation and execution.
“The Colorado thing, when you watch them, it’s the operational things that throw you off,” ESPN college football analyst Joey Galloway said during season 2 episode 7 of Nonstop show with Kirk Herbstreit. “Not necessarily the talent, but when there are situations, and there’s eight people on the field in a field goal block, like those kinds of things, they’ve had operational-type issues that are interesting to me. It’s tough to win in those situations. They look like they have talent.”
Colorado opened 2-0 with a 14-13 win at Georgia Tech and a 52-21 win over Weber State, running for 183 and 180 yards. Then came three consecutive losses with Northwestern (41-7), Baylor (23-13), and Texas Tech (29-7). The offense scored 7, 13, and 7 points, while the Buffs were outscored by 93-27 over that stretch. Against Tech, they led 7-3 at the half and outgained the Red Raiders 375-315. Then four second-half interceptions, two missed field goals, a failed fake punt, and eight penalties for 84 yards turned it into a 22-point loss.
The major problem of the offense has been the quarterback position, as it has been unsettled all year. Julian Lewis started the first four games, threw two picks in the Northwestern loss, and was benched at halftime at Baylor. Issac Wilson started against Tech and went 26-of-44 for 290 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, the last being a pick-six. Sanders even called it the position that is “disabling us and disarming us”, with the Buffaloes averaging about 10 points per game against Power Four teams.
“I think they have quarterback issues,” Herbstreit said during the same show. “It looks to me like they went all in on a five-star. It’s not panning out. The next guy didn’t really work out. I think they’re still listening to Coach Prime. It sounds like they’re still trying to figure that part out. If you’re not right at quarterback, you’re going to obviously struggle.”
Sanders has said during the offseason that “somebody’s got to step up and take hold of it” and called the QB job an open competition among Lewis, Wilson and freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne. Though he was unimpressed with the offense and special teams, he praised the defense for holding together during the tough game against Texas Tech. Chris Marve’s group held Tech to 12 points through three quarters and 315 total yards, with Santana Hopper making 10 tackles.
“Colorado took a timeout because there were only 8 players out for FG block,” DNVR Buffs’ X post reported. “They then came out after the timeout with only 9 players. Coach Prime: ‘We got 9 people out there after a timeout.”
Colorado burned a timeout in the first quarter and still came back a man short, while Texas Tech made the kick to make it 7-3. With no dedicated special teams coordinator, mistakes like that have nowhere to land. The Buffs lead the Big 12 at 82.6 penalty yards a game, 15 more than the next-worst team, and now they can’t afford to give away timeouts or possessions anymore.
Colorado gets a bye week, then hosts ranked Utah on October 17. The Buffaloes need a proven starter, a fix for special teams, and the right number of players on the field. Until then, the defense is keeping games close for an offense that can’t finish them.