Skip Bayless and the 'Undisputed' crew traveled to sunny Boulder to cover Saturday's hotly anticipated matchup between the Colorado Buffaloes and the USC Trojans. We haven't seen this much hype around a game with a 21-point favorite since last week's Colorado game!
The Buffs are expected to lose (handsomely) to the No. 8 Trojans, who happen to be led by the consensus best QB in college football and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Caleb Williams.
It's a poorly kept secret that Williams will be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, with some even comparing him to Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes.
Colorado has a solid QB as well. Shedeur Sanders was a fixture on Heisman top-10s before the Oregon blowout and he comes from NFL royalty as the son of Deion Sanders, who moonlights as Shedeur's extremely famous head coach.
There is no denying Sanders' arm talent and poise in the pocket, but he's a former three-star recruit who is just now scratching his way onto the NFL radar. Williams is the player teams are lining up the block hoping to select. Teams are tanking for Williams — not Sanders.
That didn't stop Bayless from uncorking one of his classic hot takes, marred by half-baked comparisons and an almost willful lack of appreciation for Williams' unearthly talent.
Skip Bayless picks Shedeur Sanders over Caleb Williams as NFL Draft prospect
The root of Bayless' argument is a comparison between two entirely different players. He likens Williams to Mahomes (a comparison Williams has actively pushed back against) and Sanders to Joe Burrow, a former No. 1 pick and college champion from LSU, a premium college football program in the premier college football conference.
Bayless claims to be a Burrow over Mahomes guy (???), which thus makes him a Shedeur over Williams guy.
Well... let's give credit where credit is due. Bayless does make a compelling case for Sanders' NFL future. He has been sacked more than any other QB in college football and he is accompanied by a terrible run game. Despite those less-than-ideal circumstances, Sanders has 11 touchdown passes and only one interception (which was his receiver's fault). He has 1,410 passing yards and he has completed 76.9 percent of his passes.
That is really frickin' good, and it's why Sanders is absolutely on NFL radars now. Bayless is perfectly within the realm of logic to say "look how awesome this Sanders kid is, he's going to be a great NFL player one day." We can even let the Joe Burrow comp slide, even if it's a bit oversimplified and exaggerated (and a tad disrespectful to Burrow).
But, Williams is simply better. He has shined on bigger stages against better competition than Sanders, all while possessing the ideal skill package for a modern QB. He's potent with his arm or his legs. Sanders is great in the pocket, but he's stiff when forced to mobilize and improvise. Williams is quick and crafty, sparking the Mahomes comparisons with his nifty tackle evasions before launching gorgeous high-arcing passes downfield.
Williams' stat line measures up well with Sanders — a 74.3 percent completion rate for 1,200 yards with 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Oh, and he has another 71 yards and three touchdowns on the ground (Sanders has one rushing TD with -93 yards on the ground).
Bayless should look rather foolish when the USC game goes the same way as the Oregon game. Sanders is a genuine talent, but the roster around him isn't good enough. The Buffs are on the right path, but Prime Time isn't quite ready for the big time. USC is the better team, and Williams is the better QB. There isn't much wiggle room either.
