Deion Sanders didn’t spend Tuesday’s press conference looking past Oklahoma State. If anything, he spent part of it looking straight at the program’s past and present, with a healthy dose of respect for both Eric Morris and Mike Gundy.
Colorado goes into Saturday’s meeting with Oklahoma State on a four-game losing streak, while the Cowboys return home for homecoming at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play after last weekend’s 35-32 loss to Houston. Sanders, in his fourth year leading the Buffaloes in Boulder, knows the challenge in front of him.
Still, when asked about the Cowboys, Sanders made clear he’s got plenty of admiration for the Big 12 beyond his own sideline. During his press conference, he said that he will “root for all the guys in the Big 12 - except when they play against us.”
His biggest compliments were reserved for Morris, who is in his first season on the job in Stillwater and overhauled almost the entire roster after arriving, in a move Sanders compared to what he did at Colorado before the 2023 season.
“Coach Morris has been doing a great job coming from my old stomping grounds in North Texas, has been phenomenal, brought a ton of guys over with him, cleaned out the house a little bit,” Sanders said. “He got really what he wanted, the right guys in, doing a phenomenal job.
He’s got a quarterback [Drew Mestemaker] that can flat out spin it. The defense, they’re coming, they’re coming.
They’re going to get there. But I’m proud of him, I really am.”
Mestemaker has been one of the biggest reasons Oklahoma State’s offense can stress a defense. The redshirt sophomore has thrown for at least 300 yards in each of his last five games.
Sanders also took time to recognize the coach Morris replaced. Gundy was fired three games into last season after more than two decades at the helm, closing a long run that included 170 wins, a Big 12 title and two Big 12 Championship Game appearances in three years, including the 2023 season.
“[Eric Morris] is replacing a darned legend in Mike Gundy, oh my God,” Sanders said.
Then came the nod to Gundy himself, along with a standing invitation.
“If this gets back to Coach Gundy, love you, appreciate you,” he said. “It’s not ‘were.’
You are still the man and any time you wanna fish let me know. He’s unbelievable, the run that he had and the man that he is.”
Gundy recently showed up as a studio analyst on TNT for a Big 12 game, thanking Oklahoma State for his time there as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He also wore an orange tie for the appearance.
In Other News...
Colorado Is Still Turning Road Games Into Must-See Events
Colorados visit to Stillwater is still carrying the kind of buzz that tends to follow Deion Sanders team, even in a stretch where the results have gone against the Buffaloes. Oklahoma State is set for its 105th homecoming game, and the matchup has already been announced as a sellout, giving the weekend the feel of a bigger occasion than a typical late-season stop on the schedule.
The demand has shown up in the resale market, where this game is drawing the highest prices of Oklahoma States remaining home dates. Even with Colorados losing streak in the background, the Buffaloes continue to bring a national profile that makes road games feel like events, and this one has landed in that category before anyone has taken a snap. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Heads To Colorado With One Warning Fans Cant Ignore
Eric Morris did not sound like a coach overlooking Colorado just because the Buffaloes are sitting on two wins. He called them the best two-win team in the country, pointing to how competitive they have been and the experience they bring into the matchup, a reminder that Oklahoma State is walking into a game with more danger than the record suggests.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are still juggling personnel on the back end and in the return game. Senior safety Mose Phillips III is out again with a shoulder issue, and the special teams picture also shifted when Braylin Presley got his first chance handling kickoff returns after the top option was nicked up. Those little adjustments can matter on the road, especially against a Colorado team that has made a habit of staying in games. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Just Got Hope In A Frontcourt Battle That Isn't Over
Parsa Fallahs path back to the floor has gotten a little clearer, even if it is far from settled. The Oklahoma State big man has been back around the program since August as he works his way back from a torn ACL, and a new injunction in the Glancey vs. NCAA case gives him another reason to keep pushing while he rehabs and waits on medical clearance.
The legal fight is still going, with the NCAA planning to appeal, so nothing about Fallahs status is fully locked in yet. For now, though, Steve Lutz is treating Fallah and another player on temporary injunctions like full members of the roster, which gives the Cowboys a bit of hope in the frontcourt while they wait to see whether the eligibility picture changes again. [Read more 🡒]