It\u2019s not all Salter\u2019s falter.<\/p>\n
Does CU quarterback Kaidon Salter deserve the lion\u2019s share of the blame for the Buffs\u2019 35-21 loss at TCU?<\/a> No question. Don\u2019t misunderstand us here. No. 3 was not good. Far from it.<\/p>\n The transfer from Liberty threw three interceptions, all in the first half. He took a pair of killer sacks. What silver linings there were came too little and far too late.<\/p>\n But you know what? Salter wasn\u2019t responsible for a weird Kam Mikkel fumble on a Horned Frogs punt that set up the game-winning score.<\/p>\n He also wasn\u2019t scrambling like crazy \u2014 and failing \u2014 to keep TCU wideouts Eric McAlister (two receiving touchdowns) and Joseph Manjack IV (one receiving score) in front of him in the red zone.<\/p>\n No, Saturday night was a team effort, in all the worst ways possible. In the Buffs\u2019 second straight defeat and third in conference (0-3) play, Salter had help. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who was never considered a strength. CU\u2019s secondary, which was supposed to be.<\/p>\n The Buffs (2-4) leak everywhere at the moment. At its apex last October and November, CU played complementary football. These days, it\u2019s more discordant \u2014 when the defense wraps up, the offense can\u2019t stay on the field. When the offense finds a groove, the Buffs\u2019 linebackers can\u2019t tackle anybody.<\/p>\n The best teams in the Big 12 feature elite quarterbacks and win at the little things. CU had a lot of the former and just enough of the latter last year.<\/p>\n Fast forward to 2025, and the little things aren\u2019t little at all: They\u2019re life things, and they\u2019re deadly serious. Coach Deion Sanders, who beat bladder cancer this past spring<\/a>, spent a chunk of Saturday\u2019s loss at Amon G. Carter Stadium sitting on a sideline chair. Coach Prime told reporters after the game that he\u2019s \u201churting like crazy<\/a>,\u201d is worried about blood clots again, and plans to see a doctor on Monday.<\/p>\n Even the Buffs\u2019 on-field highlights lately have come with caveats, such as the 31-yard TD toss Salter underthrew to Omarion Miller early in the fourth quarter\u2013 a ball Miller had to manhandle a TCU defender in the end zone to secure.<\/a><\/p>\n No. 3 gives Buffs fans a Patrick Mahomes windup without the Mahomes touch. He throws flat-footed. He lets go of the rock with more arm angles than Juan Marichal. The feel comes and goes. He misses open men routinely.<\/p>\n Shedeur Sanders embraced the fourth quarter. Salter and the final 15 minutes? They\u2019re just good friends. Casual acquaintances, maybe.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t execute,\u201d Salter, who threw for two scores and ran for another, told reporters. \u201cAnd I have to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n They all do, to be fair. What\u2019s becoming clearer is that Sanders needs a QB good enough to make up for his and his coaching staff\u2019s game-day blemishes. Salter ain\u2019t that. Ryan Staub was never that. Freshman Julian Lewis might be, so the temptation now will be for Coach Prime to shuffle signal-callers one more time.<\/p>\n From a mile high, you can see the logic. At 2-4 with the teeth of October still waiting, why not play the kid? With the present swirling down the drain, why not use the next six to seven weeks to start building for the future? How much worse can it get?<\/p>\n