Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was fortunate not to be ejected during the game against Kansas after he was seen shoving official Kevin Mar.
A heated game between the Buffaloes and the Jayhawks reached boiling point as a scrum emerged post-play, while Colorado was on offense. Mar attempted to step between Sanders and Kansas defensive tackle Blake Herold but was pushed in the back by the Buffaloes quarterback.
The other officials seemed to miss the incident, otherwise it’s likely that Sanders would have been thrown out of the game. College football rules analyst Mike Pereira reacted to the shove live on FOX and admitted that Sanders got lucky.
“Yeah, there’s no question that he does,” Pereira said as a slow-motion replay of the incident was played on the broadcast. “Look, I get why he’s upset because people are almost climbing over him after he was down.”
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“The officials can use their hands all they want to try to keep order, but you cannot come back as a player and push an official. In the chaos, the officials don’t see it, but he’s lucky that he wasn’t ejected from the game.”
Sanders had already expressed frustration with the officials earlier in the game after the Jayhawks avoided a roughing the passer penalty. In the first half, Sanders had already thrown the ball before being slammed by Kansas defensive end Dean Miller.
Miller dove head-first into Sanders and hit both of his knees hard, connecting with part of his helmet and the left shoulder. Sanders stayed down initially but was able to continue the game, although some fans on social media argued that Miller should have been ejected.
It was a frustrating day for the 8-2 Colorado, as Sanders and Travis Hunter continued to combine for stunning plays but were let down by the defense and eight costly penalties for 65 yards. Kansas, who entered the game 4-6, put in a stunning performance as they scored touchdowns in every quarter and won 37-21.
Sanders had a strong performance, going 22-for-28 with 267 yards and three touchdowns. Hunter received two touchdown passes and also had 125 yards off eight receptions, but the hero of the game was Jayhawks running back Devin Neal.
Neal scored four touchdowns (three rushing) on his final home game for Kansas, and had 207 rushing yards off 37 carries – the second-highest of his career. He was also the leading receiver with 80 yards off four receptions, and the Buffaloes couldn’t find a way to deal with him.
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