BOULDER — If Pat Shurmur keeps this up, he’ll win Travis Hunter a Heisman Trophy.
Remember Hunter’s touchdown catch this past weekend, that smooth, too-easy, 23-yard grab that launched CU’s 48-21 rout?
See No. 12 at the top of your screen, racing up the left boundary? Single coverage. Seriously. Travis Hunter. Single coverage. LOL!
Why single coverage? Check out the linebackers. Check out the safeties. One man blitzes. Everybody outside the box hesitates. Pauses. Some even lurch forward.
Why the lurch? Because Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders drops back and immediately fakes a shotgun handoff to Micah Welch.
Why the hesitation? Because two plays prior, Welch, the Buffs’ powerful freshman tailback, took a draw out of the shotgun for 15 yards, exploding past the line of scrimmage. Because on the play after that, Welch took a Sanders handoff and turned it into a 12-yard again.
Why the pause? Because defenders are scared of being embarrassed by Welch, who at 5-foot-9, 210 pounds, runs with the fury of a young, pre-surgery Javonte Williams. Because they’re afraid of getting trucked by sophomore tailback Isaiah Augustave, who checks in at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds.
I mean, yeah, you could throw it to #He12Man every play. Hunter can turn any handoff, any screen, into a home run. He’s got the superpower to flip the odds of every 50-50 ball into a 99.999999% certainty that No. 12 comes down with the rock.
But isn’t it funny how running to set up the pass makes Hunter’s job look … easier? How a little balance makes the Heisman front-runner seem … even more wide open?
Oh, play action. You beauty. How we’ve missed you.
“I’m always looking at tendencies. I broke a lot of them last week (vs. UCF), which helped us,” Shurmur said during a media scrum Tuesday as the Buffs hit a bye week before a massive Oct. 12 showdown with No. 20 Kansas State.
“Sometimes the answer is to do more of the same and do it better. Sometimes the answer is to (say), ‘You know what? In a former life, that was a really good play, but it doesn’t work for us. Let’s put it on the shelf.’ And so those are things that we as coaches will do.”
Byes are a window to self-scout. But we’re telling you, Pat, don’t change a thing. CU’s found a sweet spot. One of the best passing games in the country finally has a complimentary rush element that looks downright sustainable. You’ve got a bevy of tailbacks running with glorious rage. You’ve got an offensive line that’s not just gelling — it’s mauling people, and having fun doing it.
More importantly, you’ve got linebackers guessing. And steaming.
Watch the tape again.
On Hunter’s TD, watch UCF ‘backer Deshawn Pace, in the middle of your screen. No. 3’s caught in No Man’s Land. He leans in when he sees the fake handoff to Welch. He doesn’t go with a receiver. He hesitates. He’s already lost.
Because behind him, Hunter’s got four or five steps on his defender by the time Shedeur’s pass is airborne. It’s over.
The defender doesn’t quite catch up, it’s a zip-zip-zip score, putting the Buffs up 6-0.
Now look at Pace. He throws his hands up in frustration. He looks around at his teammates as if to ask what just happened.
And that’s the point. So is this: You know how that play was set up? Two runs. In fact, during that 11-play, 80-yard drive, CU stayed on the ground five times. More importantly, after the first three runs — all by Dallan Hayden — went for 0, 4 and 4 yards, respectively, they didn’t give up on it.
The Buffs are even sneaking the odd tight end into the formation. Heck, sometimes two.
“Obviously, the world knows we’re primarily a ’10’ personnel (one back, no tight ends) team because that fits what we are, personnel-wise,” Shurmur explained. “But I think in order to play a balanced offense where you can run the ball and protect the passer, we have to play in a little bit of 11. And obviously, the impact the tight end makes in that is important …
“Each week it’s different, right? Each week, each team you play presents a different challenge. Some weeks, we can stay in four-(wide), ’10’ personnel. In other weeks, it’s going to make sense to be in ’11’ and sometimes ’12.’ And so, you know, the tight ends doing what they’re supposed to do and what we’re asking them to do, it’s big.”
It’s working. After two tilts, including a humbling loss at Nebraska, CU was running it on first down just 39% of the time and running it 55.5% of the time on third-and-3-or-fewer. The Buffs averaged 20.5 points.
The last three games, CU’s been running it on first down 45% of the time, and running it 75% of the time on third-and-three-or-fewer. The Buffs won all three contests, while scoring 38.0 points per tilt.
It’s no coincidence that Hunter’s Heisman bona fides have never looked stronger. And The Pencil’s never looked sharper.
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