Deion Sanders didn’t try to sugarcoat Colorado’s 20-10 loss at Arizona State. After another conference defeat, he made it clear the Buffaloes’ biggest issue is simple: they aren’t scoring enough, and that’s sinking everything around them.
Colorado’s defense gave the team a chance, but the offense couldn’t capitalize. The Buffaloes didn’t reach the end zone until the second half, and even that drive needed a 15-yard roughing-the-kicker penalty on Arizona State to stay alive after Colorado otherwise would have missed a field goal. Earlier, a 74-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Wilson to Ernest Campbell was wiped out by an ineligible man downfield penalty on the second drive, a swing that changed the feel of the game fast.
Sanders pointed directly at the offense after the game, but he also said the problems don’t stop there. He said Colorado needs better play in the secondary and acknowledged the frustration of another season that is headed in the wrong direction.
On the mood inside the locker room, Sanders said the team is still competing, even if the results keep coming up short.
Deion Sanders: "I didn’t see quit, I didn’t see lethargic. I didn’t see any giving up by any means … This is not how it is supposed to be … If anybody’s in that locker room that’s not hurting right now, this ain’t a sport for you.
This is the wrong sport. It’s the wrong game.
It’s the wrong team. Wrong everything.
This is not how it’s supposed to be."
He also explained the thinking behind not wanting to stop the clock before halftime and give Arizona State another chance.
Sanders: "It’s almost like, ‘I don’t want to stop the clock and give them an opportunity.’ We don’t want to give the opposing team an opportunity to score.
You got to think about the other side too. So, that’s a different thought process."
The larger issue, though, was the same one Colorado has been fighting all season.
Sanders: "We got to score. That’s it.
We just got to score. I don’t think it’s a destination type of thing.
On the road, at home … We’re not scoring points … You don’t score points, you’re not going to win in any profession, any game, period. That’s the problem.
We’re not scoring, and we need to stop people as well. We got to do a better job of stopping people.
That’s on me."
Sanders said the run game and pass game need to work together, but Colorado couldn’t get much going in either phase.
Sanders: "Sometimes one complements the other and unless the passing game is going, sometimes the running game is not, and it’s vice versa … We couldn’t get anything going really offensively."
After the loss, Sanders was blunt about where the season stands.
Sanders: "The season don’t look good. It don’t look good.
I’m not crazy, man. I can see, I can see clearly.
You think I’m happy? I’m not happy with outcomes.
I’m not a loser by any means and I hate the fact of that we’re coming up on the short end of these games, tremendously."
He said the pain extends beyond the scoreboard and reaches the people around the program.
Sanders: "I hurt because you guys deserve better and the team deserves better. We should win.
We should win. We should put our best foot forward, and I’m not seeing that."
Even with a 3-6 record, Sanders said the group is still battling.
Sanders: "There’s no one in that locker room that is giving up and is not fighting, coaches included and support staff included."
And when asked about his own future, Sanders shifted the focus away from himself.
Sanders: "I want these kids to graduate and provoke changes in their lives and families. I am not worried about me."
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