Pat Shurmur Fired Up About What’s Next for Colorado’s Offense

BOULDER — Seven games into his second full season as the Colorado Buffaloes' offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur believes his unit is trending upward.

Colorado's offense is currently averaging 361.3 yards per game (15th in the Big 12 Conference), but quarterback Kaidon Salter enjoyed a bounce-back game against Iowa State last weekend, and the Buffs have shown improvements in the run game. Most encouraging, the Jordan Seaton-led offensive line has taken huge strides under CU's three new offensive line coaches.

After practice on Tuesday, Shurmur shared his thoughts on how his offense has performed through Colorado's 3-4 start to the season.

Pat Shurmur Honest Evaluation Colorado Offense Seven Games Buffaloes Kaidon Salter Deion Sanders Joseph Williams Big 12 Prime — Oct 11, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Kaidon Salter (3) calls out in the first quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"I think we're getting better each game," Shurmur said. 'We always point toward consistency. I think when you watch us play, there's things we're doing a lot better this year than we did last year. We're always looking for consistency, right? So you need to be able to run the ball, protect the passer, you need quality quarterback play, you need to make plays when they're available, and we got to be greedy with points."

Looking closer at the numbers, Colorado is averaging 143.3 rushing yards per game, a sharp increase from last year's 65.2. Running back Micah Welch and Salter have combined for nearly 550 ground yards, and Shurmur has gotten creative with implementing Dre'lon Miller and Kam Mikell into the run game more recently.

Colorado's wide receivers, meanwhile, have arguably underperformed, although that's largely due to inconsistent quarterback play. Joseph Williams and Omarion Miller are each averaging over 50 receiving yards, but getting Sincere Brown more involved will be key moving forward.

Pat Shurmur Optimistic About Colorado's Offense

Shurmur reiterated that he believes Colorado's offense is on the rise with five regular season games remaining.

"There's reasons to be optimistic with this team," Shurmur said. "As I've mentioned earlier on in the year, it's a young football team that's getting better, and we're getting a lot better by playing together."

Underclassmen who've played key roles offensively include Seaton, Welch, Williams and Dre'lon Miller. Plus, freshman wide receivers Quentin Gibson and Quannell Farrakhan Jr. have each seen considerable playing time.

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Colorado's Bye Week To-Do List

Amid Colorado's first bye week, Shurmur said he'll take time to reflect on what has transpired so far this season and also hopes to develop new aspects to his offense.

"Typically in the bye week, you go back and kind of self-scout the things that you've done to this point, which I'm doing in the afternoons," Shurmur said. "You're also working with players and getting their work in, which is important. We're moving forward with a couple of new concepts out here in the practice setting. I don't really subscribe to that time off deal. We're in the season, so it's time to go."

Colorado will visit the No. 23 Utah Utes after the bye on Oct. 25.