Shannon Sharpe blames Colorado's "un-disciplinedness" for close season-opening win against NDSU 

The Colorado Buffaloes rescued a narrow 31-26 win against the North Dakota State Bison during their season-opening game at Folsom Field on Thursday. The win was secured largely on the back of sensational performances by quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter.

However, some familiar issues persisted with the Buffs and popular analyst Shannon Sharpe addressed them during an episode of his "NightCap" show on Friday:

"They win the game but I saw a lot of the things that I saw last year. They still can't generate pressure, it's the same thing that was last year, the undisciplined-ness. If you're trying to win, the one thing you can't do, you never accept anything in a win, you wouldn't in a loss," Sharpe said.

"They had 49 yards rushing, what couldn't they do last year? Run the football. They're gonna have to get better at running the football. You can't put that kind of pressure on your offensive line and your quarterback. You're not gonna win on that," he added.

Even coach Deion Sanders was not satisfied with just the win. Speaking during his postgame news conference (via ESPN.com):

"You ever felt like you won, but you didn't win? I think 31 NFL scouts came tonight and I think they saw what they came to see. So, let's move on from there," Sanders said. "I'm going to try my best to hold back my anger, but we got the W."

Familiar issues still persist for Colorado

The Colorado Buffaloes started last season in sensational form going 3-0, but it was soon plain to see where some of the weaknesses of the team resided. The offensive line could barely protect quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who ended the season with the most sacks in the FBS (53).

Against NDSU the Buffs' ground game was non-existent, registering just 59 yards on 23 carries for 2.6 yards per carry. Sanders also acknowledged that aspect of his team's performance in the same postgame press conference:

"You would love to run the ball a little more but shoot, when you have [504 yards] of total offense, I'm pretty good," Sanders said. "I'm going to sleep good. Really good. Really good tonight with that. So, I'm cool with that. We would like to see a little more balance, but what is balance? Balance is wins."

Notably, Shedeur Sanders was only sacked once in the game, and he appreciated his O-line's performance after the game:

"The O-line had an incentive. That's it. They had a great incentive," Sanders said. "So, they definitely did what they were supposed to do today. So now I feel good."

With the frenetic nature of the Colorado Buffaloes' transfer portal dealings, fans will hope that all their team needs is time to ignite their running game after the offensive line showed good signs of protecting their quarterback.

They will have a chance to show whether there's progress in their next game against the Dylan Raiola-led Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska in Week 2 of college football action.