FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado offensive linemen gathered behind Shedeur Sanders at the postgame podium as his invited guests.
This, after serving as faithful bodyguards.
As a way of saying thanks — maybe even a mea culpa? — the Buffaloes quarterback had his contingent of linemen join him at his news conference following a 28-9 win over rival Colorado State on Saturday night. They only allowed Sanders to be sacked once — and that was in the fourth quarter of a game that was all but sealed.
It’s one of the better blocking jobs a retooled and revamped line has done in front of him since he arrived in Boulder. Sanders had time — connecting with fellow Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter for two scores — and passing lanes. Sanders threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns while completing 73.5% of his passes.
All this a week after Sanders was sacked five times against Nebraska and in a friendly way called out his blockers.
Whatever the message, it was received.
“We all got together and understood, like, we’ve got to do it,” Sanders said Saturday. “Whenever everybody try to push each other against each other, flip words, do everything like that, and together, we all stayed as a family. We’re all as one. So that’s just a good example of knowing the media, regardless of what they try to paint or anything, you can’t put us against each other.”
A line that included a combination of Phillip Houston, Kahlil Benson, Hank Zilinskas, Tyler Brown, Justin Mayers and freshman Jordan Seaton kept Sanders upright. They also created holes, with Colorado’s 109 yards rushing the third-most since coach Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder.
“Offensive line was phenomenal,” the coach said. “You guys buried them last week after the game. You didn’t say anything tremendously positive when I think they almost went for 500 yards total offense and we won (against North Dakota State), right? Where was the praise and the love? But it was a lot of hate and disdain and, ‘Here we go again. Here we go again.’
“These are young men. They’re not old as I am … and have wisdom and understand how to handle the foolishness.”
Sanders used the transfer portal to overhaul his offensive line once again after his son was sacked 52 times last season and missed the final game with a fracture in his back.
This time, the thing they may need more than anything is time to develop and bond.
“We’re going to keep the ball rolling,” said Brown, whose team opens Big 12 play by hosting Baylor on Saturday. “Because we’re not satisfied. We’re going to continue to get better.”
On the field after the game, Shedeur Sanders rebuffed a handshake from Colorado State QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. Sanders was perturbed by some comments coming out of Fort Collins from Fowler-Nicolosi and receiver Tory Horton leading into rivalry week.
The Rams felt the Buffaloes were fortunate to escape with a 43-35 double-overtime win at Folsom Field last season. Fowler-Nicolosi said in an earlier CBS Colorado interview, “We’ll see how far Instagram followers gets them.”
Sanders threw that back at Fowler-Nicolosi after the game in a video posted by “ Well Off Media,” which chronicles Sanders and the Buffaloes.
“A couple of their players took shots at the whole program and a few of our players,” Deion Sanders said after the contest. “We knew that coming into the game, it was going to be a bit personal and it was.
“We did what we needed to do to come out (of) here with a victory. We really wanted it to be decisive.”
The bond between Sanders and Hunter was on display with Hunter catching 13 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter also had an interception as he played more than 100 snaps on offense and defense. The only time he got tired was chasing down Avery Morrow to make a tackle after a 62-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“That’s probably the first time I did that,” Hunter cracked of asking to be subbed out.
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