College Football: Breaking down Shedeur Sanders’ excellent performance vs. TCU

• Sanders stepping up to the plate: Shedeur Sanders‘ 90.2 passing grade across two years at Jackson State describes his mastery at the FCS level, but there was uncertainty about whether he could repeat such a performance on the big stage.

• New level, same Sanders: He passed his first test with flying colors, posting an 86.9 overall grade. He was decisive, accurate and explosive in the passing game while showcasing a variety of throws and playing with incredible poise.

• Excelling in stable metrics: Sanders’ 91.0 clean-pocket passing grade was the ninth-best among Power Five quarterbacks with at least 10 clean dropbacks this past week.

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Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes are the talk of college football after their incredible upset win over the defending national runner-ups, TCU.

Two-way superstar Travis Hunter is rightfully garnering a ton of attention, and the team had several other standouts in Saturday’s victory, but their quarterback was actually the biggest reason they seized the moment. 

Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son, was as big a mystery coming into the first game as anybody on the roster. His 90.2 passing grade across two years at Jackson State describes his mastery at the FCS level, but there was uncertainty about whether he could repeat such a performance on the big stage.

Sanders passed his first test with flying colors, posting an 86.9 overall grade that was the best on either side. He was decisive, accurate and explosive in the passing game while showcasing a variety of throws and playing with incredible poise.

Now, Sanders' name is suddenly being discussed in early Heisman conversations. It’s probably farfetched to go there after just one game, but is it possible for Sanders to sustain his success? A look at Saturday’s game film shows a couple of reasons why he could.

One of the most stable metrics of quarterback performance is clean-pocket passing grade. Executing when conditions are generally ideal gives a clear picture of a quarterback’s ability to read the field and make proper throws. And Sanders was spectacular against TCU when he was kept free from pressure.

Shedeur Sanders: Performance from a clean pocket in Week 1

Sanders’ 91.0 clean-pocket passing grade was the ninth-best among Power Five quarterbacks with at least 10 clean dropbacks this past week.

Consider, though, that none of the eight ahead of him — a group that includes Caleb Williams and J.J. McCarthy — played against Power Five opponents. Only three of them played FBS opponents.

The scariest part may be that two of his three big-time throws weren’t even caught, leaving more gaudy statistics on the table.

While Colorado’s pass protection was solid against TCU, Sanders also managed to get the ball out quickly in order to help them. On his 34 clean dropbacks, his average time to throw was 1.98 seconds, and he completed 30 of his 34 passes. 

Sanders’ ability to quickly read defenses is his best asset. TCU made a huge mistake on Saturday underestimating Sanders and the athletic talent surrounding him. The Horned Frogs deployed man coverage at a prodigious rate, and Sanders made them pay.

Shedeur Sanders: Performance against man coverage in Week 1

His 384 yards against man coverage lapped the FBS field this week, while his passing grade and yards per attempt figures ranked inside the top five. He also posted a 91.4 passing grade when throwing into single coverage, a top-five mark in the FBS.

Sanders repeatedly trusted his outstanding group of weapons, including Hunter and USF transfers Jimmy Horn Jr. and Xavier Weaver, to win one-on-one matchups.

This level of intelligence, decisiveness and accuracy created several explosive plays for the Buffaloes offense. Sanders has the capability and weapons around him to exploit man coverage against any opponent he faces.

So the obvious adjustment should be to sit in a shell, play zone and keep things in front, right? Well, Sanders proved that he can beat that, as well.

Shedeur Sanders: Performance against zone coverage in Week 1

While Sanders — and the playcalling as a whole — was generally more conservative against zone coverage, he still found a way to make winning plays. He’ll likely need to average more yards per attempt going forward, but he completed 16 of his 19 passes into zone coverage on Saturday.

Sanders is smart enough to take what the defense gives him.

Colorado’s offense is in good hands with Shedeur Sanders at the helm. He has a high football IQ and an understanding of his talent and the talent surrounding him.

If he continues to stay this poised in the pocket and read coverages the way he did on Saturday, those Heisman conversations may not be so farfetched.