Nick Aliotti was left scratching his head during Saturday’s Utah-Arizona State halftime show when the conversation turned to Colorado.

Deion Sanders made waves this week when it was revealed he planned to promote analyst and one-time NFL head coach Pat Shurmur to a full-time role and strip offensive coordinator Sean Lewis of his play-calling duties. Colorado has lost four of its five games in Pac-12 play and Sanders is presumably looking to shake things up.

But Lewis was viewed as one of the real bright spots for Colorado this season, and the de facto demotion caught many by surprise.

Aliotti included.

“I don’t get it. It’s a demotion, no matter how you look at it,” Aliotti said on the Pac-12 Network. “To me, it makes absolutely no sense.

“Who’s moved out to know coach this week? That’s a bad look. And overall, the problem has been the offensive line. Whether Deion wants to run the ball more and they haven’t enough, maybe that’s an issue. But the protection has been awful, so changing the coordinator — they’ve moved the ball quite a bit, they’ve thrown the ball very well. I really don’t get it. I don’t know how that helps your team. What they need is a better offensive line or somebody to coach the offensive line better — whatever the issues are there.”

Shurmur will call the plays Saturday night against Oregon State. Lewis will signal them in from the sideline.

Colorado is the worst rushing team in the country by efficiency, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry on the ground this season. The Buffs have shown a reluctance to run, but it has become one of those “chicken or the egg” questions.

Regardless of the reason, Colorado’s offense becoming entirely one-dimensional has allowed opponents to pin their ears back and harass quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Shedeur Sanders has been sacked 42 times this season and pressured on 38% of his dropbacks. In the 28-16 loss to UCLA last week, he was sacked seven times. Deion Sanders said after that game the offensive line lacked a “killer instinct.”

Colorado hosts No. 16 Oregon State at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN.