Strike 3: Deion Sanders has always been about the sizzle. The bright lights, the flash and the attention that comes with it. It was that way during his playing days, and most certainly that way during his first two seasons as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Lights, cameras and action.

His third team at CU? Much more primed to be more about the “steak” and less about the “sizzle.”

Four of last season’s pass catchers and quarterback Shedeur Sanders are now in the NFL. In their place are a mostly green group of wideouts and two QB’s better known for running than passing.

“We’re gonna run the heck out of the ball. We have to,” said the head coach at Media Day.

That fits in pretty well with the background of current Buffs offensive coordinator and presumed play caller, Pat Shurmur.

Shurmur took over play calling duties from the disgruntled Sean Lewis late in the 2023 season. Lewis had grown increasingly frustrated with Shedeur not calling the plays that were sent in. But as long as Shedeur was on the field, it was really the QB calling the offensive plays. Now, with Shedeur off to the NFL and those two run-first QB’s, it figures that the Buffs will want to run the ball more than they throw it. And it will be the notoriously conservative Shurmur sending the plays in from the sidelines.

The overarching question is: Can CU still win Big 12 games and reach another bowl game while leaning on their line play on both sides of the ball?

If they succeed with this grounded approach, then fine. If not, how long until the CU faithful start clamoring for a new play caller? And there just so happens to be an heir apparent already on the CU offensive staff in highly touted new quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich.

Those two new quarterbacks, Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis, are both dual threat guys, better at this stage with the ball in their hands and running with it than they are throwing it. Salter, the fifth year senior transfer from Liberty and the likely starter, is a serious running threat. Lewis, the highly touted incoming freshman, needs experience (he only played three seasons in high school) and size (his 6-foot-1, 190 pounds listing is, let’s just say, “enhanced”) to be ready for the rigors of the Big 12.

Both players heaped praise on their QB coach at Media Day. Not much mention of the 13-year NFL veteran OC.

Things are set up to either make Shurmur a hero or a goat at this point. Not much more middle ground.

Ironically, the strength of this year’s Buffs as they head into the 2025 season is what was seen as the team’s biggest weakness during the previous two seasons when Shedeur was often seen running for his life. Offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is a postseason honors candidate and his teammates along the offensive front are bigger and stronger than season’s past. Plus, a pair of running backs, Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch are both on Doak Walker preseason watch list. Of note, they’re both being coached now by Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

Returning wideout Omarion Miller and new tight end Zach Atkins, formerly of Northwest Missouri State, will see a lot more short passes (another staple of previous Shurmur offenses) than the Buffs featured last season.

The problem is, if the new run-first approach starts to look like the middling offense that Shurmur oversaw during his two seasons (2020-21) as the OC with the Broncos in Denver, the Buff faithful may start to get a bit restless, especially after the thrills and spills of the past two seasons.

Regardless of whether the Buffs offense is productive or not early in the season, things are setting up nicely for Leftwich. If the QB’s succeed (and several have under Leftwich’s tutelage) he wins, and if the run-first game falters, it will be Shurmur who shoulders the blame.

CU’s first game is Friday night when they host Georgia Tech.