Is Shedeur Sanders playing today? Colorado QB's availability for Week 5 explored

Junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been one of the most impactful players for the Colorado Buffaloes in their first season with coach Deion Sanders. After a tough Week 4 game - losing their Pac-12 Conference opener 42-6 against the Oregon Ducks - some names have popped up on the injury report.

Players like two-way star Travis Hunter and safety Shilo Sanders are not expected to play in today's game against the eighth-ranked USC Trojans. Shedeur, though, will be under center and healthy. The Buffaloes need him to play well as he has been a consistent presence and has performed very well so far.

Shedeur Sanders has been a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy this season. He is putting up impressive numbers and is currently 130-of-169 (76.9 completion percentage) for 1,410 yards with 11 touchdown passes to only one interception.

In order to have a shot against the USC Trojans, they need Shedeur to stay upright in the pocket and keep drives alive.

Can Shedeur Sanders lead the Colorado Buffaloes to their biggest win of the season?

Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes have the odds stacked against them here, even if they were at full strength. However, they are going to be without some solid playmakers on both sides of the ball.

In order for coach Deion Sanders and co. to wind up with a massive upset victory, they need to continue to put pressure on the Trojans.

The biggest way they can do that is to continue drives on the offensive side of things. This is because the longer USC quarterback junior Caleb Williams is on the sidelines, the better the chances go up for Colorado.

USC is the top-ranked offense in college football, so if Shedeur can keep extending drives, the game will be closer.

The talented quarterback also has to avoid negative plays and getting sacked. While the Buffaloes' offensive line is one of their biggest weaknesses, he needs to avoid big plays going the other way.

It appears as senior wide receiver Xavier Weaver will play and the USC defense is allowing 228 passing yards per game. This is a great chance for some big numbers as Arizona State scored 28 points on USC last week.

Colorado did just play a top offensive team, so in theory, their defense should be improved. It certainly looked a lot better in the second half. Will there be an upset at Folsom Field today?