Colorado Buffaloes Legend Sounds Off On Georgia Tech Loss, Pat Shurmur

Program great Alfred Williams wasn't exactly pleased with what he saw in the Colorado Buffaloes' 27-20 season-opening loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

A member of CU's 1990 national championship team, Williams took to X after Friday's game to share his frustrations, namely the Buffs' inability to capitalize on three early Georgia Tech turnovers. Linebacker Martavius French recovered two fumbles and cornerback DJ McKinney picked off Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the first quarter, but all Colorado could muster was seven points.

Alfred Williams Shares Frustrations

Colorado Buffaloes Legend Georgia Tech Loss Pat Shurmur Alfred Williams Yellow Jackets Offensive Coordinator Deion Sanders CU — Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In a game that came down to the final minute, Colorado's failure to capitalize on Georgia Tech's early mistakes proved costly.

"When a college team has a +3 turnover margin there is an 86% chance that they win the game," Williams wrote on X. "The University of Colorado created three turnovers to start the game against Georgia Tech. We got 7, that’s not gonna cut it. We should’ve won that game."

Williams, who won a pair of Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos at the end of his nine-year NFL career, also called out Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. The Buffs' play-calling was often predictable and struggled to utilize CU's talented wide receivers, as Omarion Miller, Joseph Williams and Dre'lon Miller combined for only four catches.

"We gotta get better offensive coordination," Williams added.

Making his Colorado debut, quarterback Kaidon Salter threw for 159 yards on 17-of-28 passing and rushed for 43 yards. The ground game did show promise, as Micah Welch rushed for 64 yards on 11 attempts and Simeon Price had a 15-yard carry.

Still, Colorado coach Deion Sanders was similarly frustrated by his team's inability to capitalize on Georgia Tech's three early turnovers.

"Timing, personnel," Sanders said of what went wrong. "What we're trying to do, we just got to do a better job. We got to do a better job of making it happen. We got to do a better job making it happen. I'm not gonna sit up here, I'm not an excuse guy whatsoever, and I'm gonna say what I really want to say."

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Pat Shurmur On The Hot Seat?

After only the first game of his second season as Colorado's full-time offensive coordinator, Shurmur is receiving plenty of criticism from fans and in the media.

"This is what has me really fired up tonight: You have nothing but time to prepare for this game and dial up some plays with an unlimited amount of playmakers, and you didn't do it," DNVR's Ryan Koenigsberg said after the game. "You didn't do anything that made me say, 'There we go. That's getting Omarion (Miller) involved.'"

Shurmur's offense has a strong opportunity to rebound in Colorado's Week 2 game against the Delaware Blue Hens.