Colorado coach Deion Sanders didn’t say a lot about Kansas State this week, but he did make sure to acknowledge two Wildcats-related names when he met with reporters.
The Buffaloes are set to face Kansas State on the road, with first-year Wildcats coach Collin Klein standing on the other sideline. During his weekly press conference, Sanders was asked about the matchup and kept his comments brief. Even so, he made a point to show respect for former Kansas State coach Chris Klieman and to recognize Klein as a Colorado native.
Colorado enters the game as the only winless team in the Big 12, yet it remains one of the most closely watched teams in the league. That comes with Sanders at the center of everything. The Pro Football Hall of Famer built his football reputation with the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, then started turning heads again in 2020 at Jackson State.
His time with the Tigers put him squarely in the national spotlight. Sanders brought plenty of flair, plenty of attention and plenty of talent with him, including his son Shedeur and future Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. When he took the Colorado job for the 2023 season, he brought those players with him, and the Buffaloes quickly became one of the sport’s most talked-about teams.
Hunter later won the Heisman in 2024 and was selected No. 2 overall in the NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguar. Shedeur Sanders was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and is now the backup quarterback.
The results in Boulder have not matched the constant attention, but Sanders has still made Colorado a fixture in the national conversation. Critics have repeatedly taken aim at his coaching style, while his staff has also drawn headlines of its own. Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk, both NFL Hall of Famers, were assistants under Sanders, and Faulk has since become the head coach at Southern University.
Sanders’ rise has also helped create a path for former NFL players to move into head coaching jobs. Names like Eddie George, DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick have followed that road after opportunities that once were far harder to find.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Quarterback Concern At The Worst Time
The Big 12 race keeps opening and closing in odd ways, with BYU and Texas Tech both getting tripped up in recent conference upsets while Utah remains the leagues lone unbeaten team but still has plenty of hard football ahead. For Kansas State, though, the bigger issue is much more immediate: the Wildcats are suddenly sorting through quarterback injuries at a point in the season when every conference game feels like it matters twice.
Avery Johnson is listed as day to day, and backup Jacob Knuth is injured as well, leaving Kansas State with an uneasy spot in the one place it can least afford one. The Wildcats have stayed in the hunt long enough to know how thin the margin is in the Big 12, and now their ability to keep pace may hinge on how quickly the depth chart settles before the next round of games arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Just Put Colorados Biggest Problem In Focus Before K-State
Colorados special teams have taken a step forward, but the bigger issue around Deion Sanders program still sounds familiar: the Buffaloes keep hurting themselves with penalties and uneven play on offense, defense and special teams. Sanders said the group is improving in one area while still fighting the kind of consistency problems that can undo a team long before the opponent does, and he pointed to a broader need for better preparation as the schedule moves on.
For Kansas State, that kind of self-inflicted noise is the sort of thing worth watching closely. The Wildcats have their own reasons to stay locked in, but Sanders made it clear his team is still searching for cohesion and discipline, and he took responsibility for getting it there. With K-State up next, Colorados margin for error already looks thin, even if one part of the operation has started to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Has The Edge But Colorado Still Brings One Real Threat
Colorado comes into Halloween week in rough shape, carrying a five-game losing streak and sitting at the bottom of the Big 12 in Football Power Index. The numbers point firmly toward Kansas State when the teams meet on Oct. 31, especially with the Wildcats in a much better spot in the race for bowl eligibility. Kansas States profile is stronger across the board, and that alone makes this a game the Wildcats should expect to control.
Still, Colorado has one place where it can make Kansas State pay if things get loose. The Wildcats will need to be sharp around quarterback Avery Johnson and the run game led by Rodney Fields and Joe Jackson, because even a struggling opponent can hang around if it finds an opening. Colorados path to turning this into a real game is thin, but it exists, and that is enough to keep some attention on how Kansas State handles it. [Read more 🡒]