For better or worse, Colorado has found itself near the top of the offseason headlines more often than not since the arrival of coach Deion Sanders in 2023. This week, a viral video featuring Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders first produced some controversy, followed by outright trolling from several college football accounts.
It all started when Colorado’s X (Twitter) account posted a video from fall camp that shows Shedeur Sanders navigating the pocket and releasing a deep throw down the right sideline. That is followed by a harsh cut to wide receiver LaJohntay Wester hauling in a touchdown catch, leaving one defender in the dust.
Colorado’s social media team captioned the video “Darts only,” with an accompanying bullseye emoji.
Social media pundits set out analyzing the video soon after it was posted, questioning the validity of the complete throw itself thanks to the abrasive editing. Colorado got out in front of the accusations of forgery and posted a pair of unedited videos that appear to show different angles of Sanders’ throw to Wester in its entirety.
That didn’t stop the oncoming deluge of shade that was already cascading Colorado’s way.
Arkansas provided the first notable example, posting a video that clearly shows two different pass trajectories en route to a deep completion.
The Big Ten Network itself took the trolling to another level. It elected to post a video featuring Nebraska, an old rival of Colorado, and freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.
The Buffaloes and Huskers are set to face off in Lincoln on Sept. 7.
Some didn’t even attempt to hide the edit. The Fiesta Bowl’s spin on the trend opened with a clip of former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix throwing the ball during practice. It then transitions to a highlight from Oregon’s 2023 Fiesta Bowl win against Liberty.
Other organizations weren’t keen to let college football social media have all the fun. Both the PGA Tour and PGA Championship posted their own videos with the “Darts only” caption. The Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire FC, a pair of Major League Soccer teams, had their fun as well.
