Welcome to a new feature on the Hotline: An inside look, film-room style, at a key play from one of the top games of the weekend.

Ideally, ‘One Play’ will appear in this space each Monday, but it requires 1) a decisive play, 2) a taut finish and 3) a willing offensive or defensive coordinator.

Colorado quarterback Steven Montez’ 40-yard touchdown pass to receiver Laviska Shenault with 66 seconds remaining to beat hated Nebraska seemed like a good sequence to examine.

Fortunately, CU co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini was kind enough to spend a few minutes with the Hotline, explaining the background and details of the play the Buffaloes call Deuce Vegas Glance.

Let’s first set the scene for those unfamiliar:

Trailing by one point and facing third-and-24 near midfield, Montez threw an incomplete pass across the middle to receiver Jay MacIntyre.

But Nebraska safety Antonio Reed was called for a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) on MacIntyre that gave the Buffaloes new life:

Instead of fourth-and-forever, they had first-and-10 from the Cornhuskers’ 40 with 1:14 remaining.

“We feel really good about our kicker, but he had missed a couple,” Chiaverini said of James Stefanou, who had missed from 43 and 37 yards earlier in the fourth quarter.

“So I felt like we needed to score a touchdown, like we needed to be aggressive at that moment. And we felt like first down was the down to do it.”

And Shenault was the player to do it.

At 6-foot-2 and 220-pounds, the sophomore has been one of the breakout performers of the early season — not just regionally but nationally. The Buffaloes use him as an outside receiver (X), as the slot receiver (Y), even as the quarterback in Wildcat formations.

Saturday, Shenault did as he pleased against the Cornhuskers, with nine catches for 137 yards through the first 58 minutes of play.

“We moved him to Y for that last series, to try to get a mismatch,” Chiaverini said.

“We had been running the play to the boundary (short) side of the field, so we said, ‘Let’s see what happens if we run it to the field (wide) side.'”

The play, called Deuce Vegas Glance, was one the Buffs have used often and features a four-receiver set:

Shenault lined up in the slot to Montez’s right, with MacIntyre in the left slot — a formation the Buffs call Deuce.

Shenault’s pattern is simple enough: A fade down the right side — a route the Buffs call Vegas.

But the play required time to develop, so protection was vital.

While Colorado’s formation featured four receivers and one running back, the Cornhuskers countered with six on the line of scrimmage; they overloaded the right side of CU’s protection.

If all six players rush the passer, the defensive backs are left in man-to-man coverage on each of CU’s receivers, with a single high safety — a Cover 1 scheme.

All six players rushed, with defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun stunting:

Lined up over the right tackle’s outside shoulder, he looped around a linebacker and charged through the A-gap between the right guard and the center, who were focused on other rushers.

But CU tailback Travon McMillian recognized that Akinmoladun was charging unimpeded into the pocket and slid over to his left in time to occupy Akinmoladun for the split second Montez needed to complete his three-step drop in rhythm.

Meanwhile, the routes developed perfectly.

Receiver Tony Brown, who was lined up outside Shenault, ran an inside route that brought the cornerback with him into the middle third and cleared out the deep right portion of the field.

“We were surprised in that situation that they didn’t double (Shenault),” Chiaverini said.

“But the safety cheated. In that situation, we tell (Montez) to look to the boundary just for a half second.”

That half second was enough.

Montez glanced to his left (Deuce Vegas Glance) and moved the safety, Aaron Williams, in that direction — the boundary side of the field, the side opposite Shenault’s route.

That sequence, subtle as it was, created the space Shenault needed.

“(Montez) knew exactly where he was going,” Chiaverini said. “He’s really worked on the deep ball. He struggled a bit with it last year, but he’s worked hard on it, and that has paid off.”

The matchup was ideal for Colorado: Shenault against cornerback Dicaprio Bootle, who’s four inches shorter and 30 pounder lighter.

Fast as he is big, Shenault beat Bootle with a slight move to the outside, creating the step he needed.

The safety, who had edged briefly to the boundary side, was a step late arriving.

Montez’ pass landed perfectly in the window where only Shenault could make the play.

Shenault leaped, hauled in the catch and tumbled into the end zone.

The touchdown gave Colorado a 33-28 lead with 1:06 remaining.

The two-point conversion failed, but CU’s defense held.

“Huge win for us,” Chiaverini said. “Just a huge win.”

My last question: Related Articles Power ratings: Does USC’s offense work without Sam Darnold? It should (there’s plenty of talent), but it doesn’t

Colorado preview: Game-by-game predictions

The inside fade is a fairly standard route, with teams typically using their preferred terminology to describe it.

Why do the Buffs call it the Vegas route?

“Because if you hit it,” Chiaverini said, “it’s big money.”

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