The Colorado Buffaloes have landed ex-Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter out of the transfer portal to possibly step in and replace Shedeur Sanders next season.

Salter figures to compete with five-star high school recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis for the starting job. Lewis is expected to join the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) in the spring semester.

A dual threat, Salter is coming off a regular season for the Flames in which he ran for 579 yards and seven TDs while throwing for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. His total yards per game (224.09 yards) was fourth-most in Conference USA.

Salter led Liberty to an 8-3 mark this season. His former team will play in the Bahamas Bowl on Jan. 4 against Buffalo.

Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur recently spoke of the need to bring in a player such as Salter as Lewis develops. Shurmur called Lewis a “great decision maker.”

“He has a real sense of timing. He's a very accurate passer,” Shurmur added of Lewis, a star at Carrollton High School in Georgia. “He has a heroic nature. He has all those things you're looking for. ... If he does the things that he's done in high school and continues to improve at this level, then he will have a bright future."

There are big shoes to fill at quarterback once Sanders wraps up his career following the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 against BYU. Sanders broke many school records, including the single-season yards passing mark (3,926) and for passing TDs (35). The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm recipient has a TD throw in 48 straight games, dating to his days at Jackson State.

Former Washington State quarterback John Mateer has announced that he is heading to Oklahoma.

The move comes two weeks after Oklahoma announced it hired ex-Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for the same position with the Sooners.

Mateer posted a photo of Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium with the words “Praise God!!” and “#BoomerSooner” on social media Wednesday night. He passed for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions and ran for 826 yards and 15 scores for the Cougars this season. The Cougars went 8-4 and averaged 36.8 points.

Mateer is in line to replace Jackson Arnold, who has transferred to Auburn.

In another transfer portal move, Tennessee picked up former Arizona offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr.

Chargers host Broncos on Thursday with both teams closing in on playoff spots

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Bo Nix and Justin Herbert have tried to keep their focus squarely on Thursday night's pivotal AFC West showdown between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers.

Both quarterbacks realize though what a win would do in regards to their postseason chances.

Nix and Denver (9-5) have won four straight and would return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 with a victory at SoFi Stadium.

Even though a win in one of the next three games extends Denver's season for at least one week, that's not the way Nix is looking at it.

According to the NFL, a loss by Denver would leave its probability at 85% with remaining games at Cincinnati on Dec. 28 and Kansas City in Week 18.

“We’ve got three games to win three and go into the playoffs and win a Super Bowl," he said.

Herbert and Los Angeles (8-6) are reeling with losses in three of its past four. Yet, it would wrap up its second postseason berth in three seasons with a win plus losses or ties by Miami and Indianapolis.

“The past couple of games have been felt like playoff games where they’re important and have that environment where at any moment something big can happen,” Herbert said. “That’s on us to be able to handle that environment, continue to go through it and realize the importance of these games."

The Chargers would have a 97% probability of making the playoffs with a win compared to 73% if they lost.

Los Angeles closes the season with road games against New England and Las Vegas, but would be favored in both.

The Chargers are looking to sweep the season series for the first time since 2010, which would give them the tiebreaker if both teams had the same record. The Bolts go into Week 16 as the AFC's seventh seed, which would mean a trip to Buffalo or Kansas City in the wild-card round.

The Broncos hold the sixth seed, which would likely be a trip to AFC North winner Pittsburgh or Baltimore.

“We know where we stand as a team, we control our own destiny. This Thursday everything we want is right in front of us and it starts with a division game,” Chargers safety Derwin James said.

Thursday night flex

This is the first time a game has been flexed to Thursday night. NFL owners approved a two-year trial last year where up to two games in Weeks 13 through 17 could be flexed to the Amazon Prime Video package with at least 28 days notice prior to the game.

It wasn't used last year, but needed to this season to see the effects. The AFC North matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals was bumped to Sunday afternoon.

The Chargers were one of six teams not to have a Thursday game when the NFL schedule was released in May.

The Broncos are the first team to have two road Thursday games immediately after a Sunday game since 1926.

“I just think we as coaches have learned a lot about how to play these games maybe differently than when we were first doing it," Denver coach Sean Payton said. "I think it’s important to really look closely at not over installing. Making sure the guys know what they’re getting by heart. Plays that they know.”

Bo’s big rebound

Nix had his first three-interception game as a pro Sunday and Denver produced just seven points in its first nine drives against the Colts. But Nix bounced back and led the Broncos to 17 points in the final 20 minutes for a 31-13 blowout.

“Later in that game when we needed him he didn’t flinch,” Payton said. “There’s a maturity and a moxie about him that I love. And I think it’s contagious to the team, and when you have that at the quarterback position, you know you’re in every game. And when you don’t have it, that’s pretty difficult because deep down in their bellies they know that’s not the case.”

Stuck in neutral

The Chargers lack of playmakers at the offensive skill positions has been apparent over the past three games with running back J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve because of a knee injury.

Los Angeles ran the ball on 44.4% of its plays before Dobbins' injury. That rate has decreased to 33.1% of its snaps against Atlanta, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Herbert is also dealing with a sprained left ankle. While the injury is not as severe as when he sprained his right ankle at Carolina on Sept. 15, it has led to offensive coordinator Greg Roman leaving certain plays off his call sheet.

“I don’t know if I’d be able to put an exact percentage on it. I know it is better than it was last week and as long as we're going in that direction,” Herbert said.