Colorado playbook found by Texas Tech fans in hotel bar
The year is 2026, and teams are still printing out playbook packets. That became a disaster for the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday night. A Texas Tech Red Raiders message board user found what appeared to be Colorado's offensive playbook left behind in the team hotel lobby.
Colorado dropped its seventh straight Big 12 conference game going back to last season, in a 29-7 loss to the then-No. 12 Red Raiders at Folsom Field on Saturday.
“A bunch of people were in the Omni; there were like 20 of us,” RedRaiderSports.com message board user VivaTerlingua told On3 over the phone Sunday. “We just kind of took over the bar and were hanging out there. My buddy came up and was like, ‘This thing’s just lying in the lobby.”
The playbook first spread on social media late Friday night, but its legitimacy didn’t become clear until kickoff.
The Buffaloes' first offensive play, a 0-yard completion from wide receiver Joseph Williams to quarterback Isaac Wilson on a reverse trick play, was diagrammed as the exact designed opener on the playbook found. The leaked photos included a collection of red zone runs and 24 plays labeled “must calls.”
Colorado declined to comment to On3 about the playbook being left around the hotel.
The post below from X user Jody Laughter matches the same plays to the calls Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion made in the game.
This isn’t the first time a college football playbook has been leaked. Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach left an opening script in the trash can before the Red River Shootout game against Texas, when he was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 1999. What was different, however, was that the playbook was intentionally planted to trick the opponent.
VivaTerlingua wanted to get the playbook into the hands of Texas Tech’s coaches, who were staying at the Westin Westminster on Highway 36 between Denver and Boulder.
“If they’re going to leave this lying around, why not take advantage of it? So that’s why I posted it on RedRaiderSports.com, because I don’t, as big of a fan as I am, know anybody on the team or anything like that,” the message board poster said.
The playbook never got to the team before the game, but Texas Tech didn’t have a problem adding to Colorado’s misery on offense. The Buffaloes’ second-half drive chart reads: interception, interception, interception, punt, pick-six, and two turnovers on downs. No team needs a playbook to stop that self-induced horror show.
The bye week gives Colorado more time to rewrite that script for its next test against No. 12 Utah Utes on Oct. 17.
Maybe this time, keep it out of the lobby.
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