BOULDER — Near the end of the third quarter, Shedeur Sanders threw a perfect pass — the kind that will almost assuredly make him a top-five pick in April’s NFL draft.
The CU Buffs’ senior quarterback pinpointed a back-of-the-shoulder throw along the sideline to LaJohntay Wester. The 33-yard play was a special gem amid an array of highlights in No. 23 Colorado’s 52-0 demolition of Oklahoma State on Friday at Folsom Field.
Playing his final game in the shadow of the Flatirons, Sanders threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns, completing 34 of 41 passes with one pick. His final Folsom Field pass was a 23-yarder to Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter.
Sanders captained CU to its largest margin of victory since a 66-14 win against Northeast Louisiana on Sept. 16, 1995. It was the Buffs’ first shutout since a 34-0 win against Arizona on Oct. 16, 2021.
But for all of those gaudy numbers, Sanders said he most enjoyed figuring things out when CU’s offense stalled in the second quarter.
“I’m just thankful going against those different types of challenges week by week because my favorite thing about playing quarterback is the problem-solving,” he said.
After scoring 21 points in the first quarter, the Buffs’ went scoreless in the second. And it was ugly. OSU started blitzing and changing up their defensive schemes. The Cowboys sacked Sanders four times in the quarter, including three plays in a row at one point.
The QB said he had a “come to Jesus meeting” with his dad, head coach Deion Sanders, at halftime.
“We said, ‘This is the last home game, we’re not going out like that,’ ” Shedeur said. “So that was kind of a reset. And then we (were) able to go out and continue to put up points, put up numbers.”
Coach Prime didn’t talk much about his son’s performance but did say, “Wow! Wow!” as he looked over the stat sheet.
“I think Travis clinched the Heisman with his performance,” Coach Prime said. “… I think Shedeur should be right beside him.”
Friday was a milestone afternoon for the quarterback.
He entered the game needing 40 yards to set Colorado’s single-season passing record and surpass Koy Detmer, who threw for 3,527 yards in 1996 under coach Rick Neuheisel. Sanders busted the mark when he hit Wester for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Sanders finished the regular season with a school-record 35 TD passes and a grand total of 3,926 yards passing.
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Before the game, he was named the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner. He is the first CU signal-caller to ever win the award, which, according to the Unitas Foundation, goes to the quarterback who best exemplifies character and scholastic and athletic achievement.
The QB is also one of three finalists for the Davey O’Brien Award and a semifinalist for the Manning Award.
Sanders bypassed a question about winning the Unitas award and chose instead to discuss playing in front of the CU fans in Boulder for the final time.
“Somebody texted me (and) said they drove all the way from I don’t know where to see us play,” he said. “And that really meant a lot to me because people spend their hard-earned money and their time just to go out there and see us play.”
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