Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders hurt in blowout loss to Washington State

Colorado's football season hit a new low on Friday night.

Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders left injured early in the team's 56-14 loss to Washington State.

And on top of losing its star QB, Colorado was also eliminated from bowl eligibility by falling to 4-7 with one game to play.

It was a disastrous night in Pullman for the Buffs.

Sanders was seen heading to the locker room during the second quarter with an apparent injury. He returned to the sideline after halftime in street clothes.

Backup Ryan Staub replaced him under center, and third-stringer Gavin Kuld also got some play time.

Sanders initially came out of the game with an apparent upper-body injury after getting strip-sacked in the first quarter but returned to action after missing one series.

On the play where he was hurt, he could be seen clutching his arm.

After Sanders returned to action, he almost immediately threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter. But that was the only positive moment for the QB, who only played two more series after that before leaving the game for good.

The strip-sack that initially hurt Sanders, which was returned for a WSU touchdown, was the fourth sack of the night Sanders endured, continuing a season-long trend for him. He came into Friday having taken 48 sacks on the season.

Sanders' lone TD pass cut WSU's lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter, but the Cougars returned the ensuing kickoff for a score to bump the lead back up to 21-7. Sanders finished 6-of-10 passing for 86 yards and the one TD.

For the most part, Colorado's offense sputtered while the Cougars moved the ball at will and quickly ran the lead up to 42-7 by halftime. Colorado didn't score again until the fourth quarter.

Sanders, the son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, has been one of the most prolific QBs in college football. He came into the week fifth in the nation with 3,144 passing yards to go with 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

His ability to scramble and keep plays alive makes him one of the more exciting players to watch, but it has also left him susceptible to taking a lot of hits.

This is Shedeur's first season at the FBS level after he transferred from Jackson State, where his dad also coached at the time. Deion's arrival in Colorado has brought a massive wave of hype to a program that had been in a state of disarray in recent years.

The team's 3-0 start captured the attention of the college football world early in the season, but the hype slowed down as the Buffaloes lost seven of their last eight. Now, they officially have only one game left in the season, against No. 22 Utah.