Deion Sanders benches Colorado QB again with Shedeur watching on sideline

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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders benched his starting quarterback for the second time in the past seven games after another disastrous first half for the Buffaloes.

Sanders sat Kaidon Salter, Colorado’s regular starter at quarterback, near the end of the first half of Saturday night’s game at home against Arizona, with the Wildcats leading 38-7 at halftime.

Salter had completed 11-of-15 passes for 49 yards in the first half. He also fumbled the ball and threw an interception, leading Sanders to put backup quarterback Ryan Staub in the game with 21 second left in the half.

Salter, a transfer from Liberty, has disappointed in Colorado except for a couple of games this season as the Buffs started the season with a 3-5 record.

Sanders previously benched Salter in favor or Staub for a game at Houston in September. Colorado lost that game, 36-20. But since beating Iowa State on Oct. 11, the Buffs have struggled with Salter behind center. They’ve been outscored 81-7 in the first half of their past two games, including Saturday night at Folsom Field.

But things didn’t immediately get better with Staub behind center, either. He threw an interception on the second play of the second half, his first pass of the game.

Colorado simply hasn’t been the same since Sanders’ son Shedeur left Colorado for the NFL after leading the Buffs to a 9-4 season last year as senior quarterback. Shedeur returned to Boulder for the game Saturday and watched from the sideline while his NFL team, the Cleveland Browns, enjoys a bye week this week.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders benches Colorado Kaidon Salter again with Shedeur on sideline

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