Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders showed what he can do with the football in a big way during his first game of the year.
The son of Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter in Colorado’s season opener against North Dakota State on Thursday night.
The Buffaloes quarterback completed all five pass attempts in the opening quarter as the Colorado offense put up 14 points through their first two possessions.
Sanders turned heads on Colorado’s first score of the game when he found Travis Hunter for a 41-yard touchdown pass to put the Buffaloes ahead.
Hunter made the short catch and then broke a tackle with no one else in front of him to run into the end zone, much to the delight of the Folsom Field crowd.
But Sanders outdid himself on the next drive when two plays in, the QB launched a pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. and connected on a 70-yard touchdown.
As the pocket collapsed, Sanders stepped forward to throw the ball to Horn just as he was about to be gobbled up, hitting the receiver in the middle of the field.
Horn juked around one defender and then sprinted up the sideline for the Buffaloes’ second touchdown.
The two touchdown throws stunned those watching the game and even had ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky making predictions for next year’s NFL draft.
“I think Shedeur Sanders is a top 5 pick next year,” Orlovsky wrote on X.
The touchdown throws weren’t the only moments that had people talking in the first half.
Sanders also appeared to go down with a cramp just after the Buffaloes failed to convert on a fourth down and North Dakota State was rushing to get its offensive players on the field.
The quarterback motioned to the sideline for a trainer to come out while he held his left leg.
The move forced the clock to stop and allowed time for Colorado’s defense to get on the field.
He returned for Colorado’s next offensive possession appearing to be unscathed.
