SALT LAKE CITY – So this is how it ends for Deion Sanders in his first season on the job at Colorado – a 23-17 loss at Utah, a six-game losing streak and his starting quarterback son Shedeur sidelined all game with injuries.
But it could have been so much worse. Despite the injuries and a rash of flu-like symptoms, the Buffaloes still hung in there again before Utah (8-4) took over with 7:25 left in the game and ran out the clock with 12 final plays.
It was Colorado’s fifth loss decided by seven points or fewer, leading Sanders to double down on his prediction of bigger things for the Buffs next year in Year Two.
“We getting ready to start cookin,’” Sanders said afterward. “We getting ready to start go pick up that grocery and make sure we do it right. You know what we need. Everybody know what we need. You know dern well what we need, so we gonna get it.”
The Buffs finished with a 4-8 record, including no victories against teams that finished the regular season with winning records. Their six-game losing streak also marked quite a comedown after starting the season 3-0, when the Buffs were described as the biggest story in sports after finishing 1-11 in 2022.
In the end, a breakdown on the offensive line and the loss of their early-season swagger doomed them down the stretch, punctuated by Saturday’s defeat in front of a sellout crowd of 51,595 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
What else did Deion Sanders say?
He focused on the future again as the transfer portal gets ready to heat up Dec. 4, one year since his hiring at Colorado. He plans to go after a “plethora” of transfer recruits but acknowledged it might “cost” to get some top players who are looking for financial compensation in exchange for use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL).
“We’re getting there,” he said. “We definitely need giving. You know what I mean. It’s unfortunate to say this, but some kids cost … I have not charted this yet, but I’ve asked for the numbers. But if you start thinking about the top several teams in the country, I see what was spent on assembling their teams. You know, we can sit here and talk about great coaching and great this and great that all we want, but it’s gonna be a credit card swipe in some kind of way with all these guys going to these places. And I understand that.”
Sanders also said he expected “a few” changes on his staff before next year, though he didn’t elaborate.
“I love everything that transpired,” Sanders said of his first season in Boulder. “I could not grow if I didn’t go through what we’ve gone through. I could not prosper if I did not glean from what transpired this season. I could not be who I am if I did not have these tasks at hand. I’m truly thankful. This is not the first challenge I’ve had in my life, but I know how I finish. I know how this is gonna end. I promise you. I know how this is gonna end.”
What happened in the game?
Both teams were forced to start backup quarterbacks because of injuries. In Utah’s case, the Utes turned to a fifth-string walk-on, Luke Bottari, who scored two rushing touchdowns, including a 1-yarder in the third quarter that helped put the Utes up 20-10. The Utes ended up outrushing the Buffs 268-37 and possessed the ball for nearly 40 of the game’s 60 minutes
Utah “ran the ball down our throats,” Sanders said.
Freshman Ryan Staub made his first career start for Colorado in place of Shedeur Sanders. He got off on the wrong foot when he fumbled the ball away on a strip-sack during his team’s first possession.
But Staub still rallied Colorado before halftime and helped cut Utah’s lead to 13-10. It didn’t help his cause that a replay review nullified a diving 29-yard touchdown pass from Staub to receiver Travis Hunter late in the second quarter. After the official ruled that Hunter had “lost control of the ball” during the catch, the Buffs still got a 47-yard field goal from Alejandro Mata on the next play to come within 13-10 with 20 seconds left in the half.
It ended up being as close at Colorado got on a cold, overcast afternoon in the last Pac-12 Conference game for both teams before they join the Big 12 in 2024.
Utah kicker Cole Becker finished with three made field goals of 34 yards or shorter after transferring from Colorado in the wake of Sanders’ hiring there last December.
Staub said afterward he was “nervous and excited” about his first career start but completed 17 of 24 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown – an 18-yard pass to Hunter with 7:31 left in the game to account for the final score.
“It’s come a long way,” Staub said of the team’s progress. “The season – we started out hot, and it kind of didn’t go the way we wanted. But I just think … there’s been glimpses of hope throughout this whole entire season. And I think the foundation that Coach Prime has built here, I mean, it’s an upward trajectory. We’re gonna be great.”
What is next for Deion Sanders?
The Buffs are only set to lose 11 scholarship players who were in their final years of eligibility this season, including two graduate transfers who were top contributors: receiver Xavier Weaver and safety Rodrick Ward. Incidentally, Weaver also didn’t play Saturday after experiencing flu-like symptoms but finished with a team-best 68 catches for 908 yards on the year.
Other Colorado players could leave via the transfer portal, giving more room for Deion Sanders to mine the transfer portal again for his own recruiting under the 85-scholarship limit. In addition to the at least 11 scholarship spots opened up by departing players, Sanders only used about 77 scholarships this season, meaning he has another eight or so to give and stay under the 85 limit.
A “great foundation was built,” Colorado defensive lineman Shane Cokes said Saturday.
He noted how Sanders transformed the roster after his hiring a year ago with dozens of transfer players and fewer than 10 scholarship players returning from last year’s team.
“I think we forget sometimes how different of a situation this has been in college football and probably will never happen again,” Cokes said. “What we did in this season, you know the things we accomplished and how we played and how we’ve come together as a group in such a short time… I think it’s just laying a great foundation and building off that to make us something even better.”
What went wrong for Deion Sanders?
Much of Colorado’s slide still could be pinned on Sanders in terms of overall team discipline and game management. Colorado entered the game ranked second nationally in penalties committed with 100, then added seven more Saturday against Utah. The Utes also were able to run out the clock at the end in part because the Buffs had burned two of their three timeouts in the third quarter.
Sanders said afterward he used one of those timeouts early in the second half because of a player substitution issue and didn’t want to lose five yards on a penalty.
But the biggest problem for Sanders on Saturday was the absence of his quarterback son Shedeur, who watched the game from the sideline after getting knocked out of last week’s loss at Washington State. It was the first time without Shedeur at quarterback since he began coaching him before high school. Shedeur Sanders started every other game for Colorado before Saturday and set a school record with 3,230 passing yards this season.
“That was my first time playing without him,” Deion Sanders said. “It wasn’t easy.”
Now he’s ready to turn the page.
“You gonna be pleased with what’s coming; I promise you that,” Sanders said. “But everything that you see that we have a lack thereof, a deficit, we’re gonna fill that need.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
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