Colorado football: Top 10 passing leaders in Buffaloes history
By Josh Yourish
![Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/c8503f014b39df0b0b8936b13ba80eefb8c3d0d14c3453111e5e29024c49f518.jpg)
Coach Prime has brought a dynamic passing offense to Boulder with Shedeur Sanders, but this isn’t the first time that the Colorado Buffaloes have put up big numbers through the air. Even for a program known for the triple-option, Colorado has a few quarterbacks with gaudy career numbers.
You can find the entire list of all-time passers HERE, but we’ll take a journey through the top 10 in school history and remember their impact on the Colorado program.
Amazingly, Darian Hagan, who led the Buffaloes to a national championship, isn’t on this list, because his game was on the ground. Hagan is No. 11 all-time right behind Steve Vogel.
Colorado football career passing leader No. 10: Steve Vogel (1981-84)
- 3,912 passing yards
- 27 passing touchdowns
- 44.9% completion
- 5.7 yards per attempt
Bill McCartney didn’t begin his career at Colorado as a triple-option head coach, he also didn’t start off as a winning head either. It wasn’t until 1985 when the Buffaloes turned to the triple-option, which is why one of Darian Hagan’s predecessors ranks higher than him on the all-time passing list.
Vogel never completed over 50% of his passes for a season and in his two years as the full-time starter, 1983 and 1984 when he had his highest number of pass attempts, the Buffaloes went 4-7 and 1-10.