Colorado's blowout loss to Oregon on Saturday ended the Buffaloes' impressive undefeated start, but the discourse surrounding Deion Sanders's team hasn’t slowed down much.
The latest strange take on Colorado’s first loss came from Undisputed’s Keyshawn Johnson, who says he found out through a conversation with a college coach that Oregon received substantial assistance in game-planning for the Buffaloes from other schools.
“They [were] telling me ‘Man, I’ve never heard from another assistant coach of how much information was being given to that [Oregon] staff about game-planning against Colorado so they can beat them,” Johnson said.
The insinuation here from Johnson is that other programs wanted Colorado to lose badly, with co-host Skip Bayless alluding to jealousy across the coaching profession of Sanders’ meteoric rise.
Here’s the full exchange:
.@keyshawn: Coaches from other schools helped Oregon game plan to beat Colorado 👀 pic.twitter.com/qTrJDDIpnK
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) September 25, 2023
The take quickly raised eyebrows across the college football world, namely because coaches sharing information about past opponents is common practice in the sport. Plus, the Ducks clearly outclassed Colorado Saturday, winning 42–6 and outgaining the Buffaloes 518 yards to 194. No amount of opponent tidbits would have changed the outcome of the game.
The entire coaching fraternity getting together to tell Lanning to run halfback dive for 7 yards a carry https://t.co/Tx09i8zvzJ pic.twitter.com/aWCtETfM5A
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) September 25, 2023
Come on now. Y’all don’t have to do this. Just give Oregon their credit and move it along. https://t.co/QVJNJebFC1
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 25, 2023
Nobody needed a secret gameplan to know Colorado can't stop the run or protect the quarterback.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 25, 2023
Also coaches share bits of scheme info with each other all the time. https://t.co/MvYUClrxPK
Thank God a bunch of coaches told Dan Lanning that Colorado couldn't compete on the lines. No shot he ever would have figured that out on his own. https://t.co/InRva6yrtO
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) September 25, 2023
Man in a trenchcoat in the middle of the night waits outside a phone booth for it to ring. It finally does.
— Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) September 25, 2023
The gruff voice on the other end takes a deep breath and utters the words
"They can't block"
There is a click and the line goes dead.
The man in the trenchcoat smiles. https://t.co/qTiQ5rYk73
This is the kind of stuff I was referencing on our reaction show Saturday night about conversations a lot of people watch that turn the CU conversation into one totally devoid of proper context. https://t.co/m4NuNmI51Y
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 25, 2023
I mean, coaches share info all the time during the season. That's not how or why Colorado was demolished. https://t.co/NYZEL6ef12
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 25, 2023
A side effect of all the extra buzz Sanders has brought to college football are takes like Johnson’s. And with a big showdown this weekend against Caleb Williams and USC in Boulder, Colorado’s moment in the spotlight isn’t winding down anytime soon.
