The Buffs played a choppy game against Baylor, but their two superstars, Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, came through when it mattered. Their heroics lifted Colorado to a 38-31 overtime victory to improve to 3-1. The win is great to build confidence heading into the heart of the schedule, but there are still plenty of things the Buffs can clean up.
After a second go-around watching the tape, here are some things they did well and some things that got them in a hole in the first place.
Colorado still playing a ton of man coverage
It’s not a secret that the Buffs are heavily biased toward paying man coverage, specifically Cover 1 with a free safety in the middle of the field. Against Baylor, the Buffs played 41 snaps in man coverage to just 19 in zone on 60 charted plays. This leaves their cornerbacks susceptible to getting beat on the outside sometimes, and Baylor hurt them a few times in the first half.
A lot of the Buffs’ zone snaps come in short-yardage situations on early downs — first-and-5, second-and-2, etc. — and at the end of halves when they’re making a concerted effort not to give up chunk plays through the air. When it gets to third and fourth down, they like to go man even in short yardage. They have held up well for the most part so far this season, but it will be interesting to see if the plan changes when they face some of the top wideouts in the Big 12.
