PULLMAN, Wash. – Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was ejected from the game against Washington State here Friday night after being sacked four times in his first 10 games, including a brutal hit that appeared to injure his right throwing arm in the first quarter.
Sanders, son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, returned after his score and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to receiver Travis Hunter. But then he came out of the game and went to the locker room after a botched snap in the second quarter when Colorado trailed 28-7. A Colorado spokesman confirmed that he left the game permanently after that.
He was replaced by freshman backup quarterback Ryan Staub in the first half as Colorado once again struggled in pass defense, this time against a Cougars team that had lost six straight games. The Buffaloes (now 4-7) entered the game with the second-most sacks in the country (49).
Shedeur Sanders suffered all but one of these and previously required painkiller injections to finish games. Yet he never had to leave a game because of all the goals until Friday, on a chilly fall night here at Martin Stadium, when he seemed doomed from the start.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) is assisted by wide receiver Xavier Weaver (10) after a first-half play against Washington State.
Washington State took a 14-0 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter after forcing Sanders to fumble the ball on the hit that appeared to hurt his arm – a helmet-to-shoulder hit from behind by the Cougars Defensive back Ron Stone Jr. Stone’s teammate Brennan Jackson then grabbed the ball and scored a 40-yard fumble return touchdown.
Sanders, a junior, put on warmups and watched the game on the sidelines after halftime, when the Buffs trailed 42-7. He finished the first half with six pass completions in 10 attempts for 86 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions – enough to set Colorado’s single-season passing record with 3,230 passing yards, eclipsing Sefo Liufau in 2014 (3,200).
However, statistical milestones were never important to him. Colorado lost 56-14 and ends the regular season next week at Utah.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders left the game against Washington State