During Colorado football’s fourth drive against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, quarterback Sheduer Sanders scrambled before finally releasing an incomplete pass intended for wide receiver Will Sheppard.
After the pass left Sanders’ hand, he took a brutal lower-body hit from Kansas linebacker Dean Miller, but no flag was thrown for roughing the passer. Sanders was shaken up after the hit but stayed in the game, throwing a touchdown pass to freshman Drelon Miller soon after.
The should-have-been roughing the passer penalty was obvious to everyone on social media. Vic Lombardi of Altitude Sports and former CU interim head coach Mike Sanford, in particular, expressed their frustration with the no-call on X (formerly Twitter).
The rule was famously introduced into the NFL after former New England Patriots QB Tom Brady was hit low early in the 2008 season and suffered a torn ACL. The low-blow element of the roughing the passer penalty was introduced to college football before the 2014 season to match up with the NFL rulebook.
Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.