Following Colorado’s thorough smackdown by the Arizona Wildcats at Folsom Field, head coach Deion Sanders took the podium and took the metaphorical bullet for his team. During a period of intense criticism,
Sanders asked fans to blame him — and no one else— for the Buffaloes’ persistent struggles.
“Don’t attack the coordinators; come at me,” Sanders said to open his postgame press conference. “Don’t attack the players; come at me. This is me. This has nothing to do with none of them. It has everything to do with me.”
Colorado, which has been outscored 105-24 in their last two games, is in dangerous territory. The offense hasn’t been able to move the football while the defense hasn’t been able to spot a nosebleed. Only three seasons after CU’s disastrous 1-11 campaign in 2022, Buffs fans are having flashbacks to one of the worst periods in program history.
The Buffs allowed Arizona to rack up 271 total yards for five touchdowns and two turnovers before halftime, putting the nail in Colorado’s coffin ahead of the break. The Wildcats dominated the Buffs in all three phases of the game, leading to the worst loss in Folsom Field of the Deion Sanders era of Colorado football.
“We’re not executing and we aren’t getting it done,” Sanders said. “That’s from lack of preparation, I suppose.”
Sanders, who inked a five-year, $54 million contract this offseason to coach the Buffs through 2029, said he had no idea how Colorado could’ve gotten blown out for the second consecutive week.
“I have no idea [how this happened],” Sanders said. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have allowed it to happen. It’s on me.”
When questioned on how often he hasn’t had the answer in his athletic and coaching career, Sanders said he knows what issues need to be addressed within the building and how to fix them, but didn’t want to go into specifics.
“I’m not going to say I don’t have the answer,” Sanders said. “I have the answer. I’m trying my best not to say what I want to say, but I’m trying to be transparent [to the media] because you deserve that. It’s on me. Criticize me… I know what the situation is. I know what the problem is and I’ll fix it.”
Despite the struggles of the last two weeks, Sanders said he hasn’t lost any confidence in his ability to coach the Buffaloes.
“I don’t doubt me,” Sanders said. “The confidence level of me doing this job? I’m built for this.”
Colorado will go back to the drawing board as it prepares to play a West Virginia team that beat No. 22-ranked Houston on Saturday.
