Should Shedeur Sanders have been ejected for shoving referee?

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders seemingly got away with one during the Buffaloes’ game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

Sanders was angry with some post-play behavior by Kansas defenders late in the third quarter at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The quarterback tried to take on a few Jayhawk players, and wound up shoving referee Kevin Mar during the skirmish.

FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira said he understood why Sanders was angry, but that the quarterback was lucky not to be ejected.

“Look, I get why he’s upset, because people are almost climbing over him after he was down,” Pereira said. “The officials can use their hands all they want to try to keep order, but you cannot come back as a player and push an official. In the chaos, the officials don’t see it, but he’s lucky he wasn’t ejected from the game.”

"He's lucky he wasn't ejected from the game." @MikePereira takes a closer look at Shedeur Sanders' push on the ref ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SSESj7QtId

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 23, 2024

Sanders may not have been trying to to make any contact with the officials, but intent rarely matters in such situations. It is fairly surprising that he got away with it.

Sanders was taking shots from Kansas players for much of Saturday’s game. Earlier on, he had taken a dirty shot to the knees, but officials decided not to call roughing the passer after a brief discussion.

Sanders still put together a strong day despite the hits he was taking. He went 23/29 for 266 yards with three touchdowns, but Colorado was let down by its defense in a 37-21 loss.