Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team nearly pulled off another miraculous comeback at Folsom Field on Saturday night.
Shedeur Sanders’ 11-yard touchdown pass to LaJohntay Wester gave the Buffaloes a 28-24 lead with 3:12 left, but No. 18 Kansas State went 84 yards in three plays to score the game-winning touchdown.
“Sometimes when you lose in life, you get your butt kicked and you just have to take it,” Deion Sanders said postgame. “But sometimes you lose, you say, dang, we should’ve won that. We should’ve had that. And that was one of those types of games.”
Here are a few overreactions (or not) from Colorado’s 31-28 loss to No. 18 Kansas State.
Not an overreaction. Deion Sanders defended both of his coordinators after the loss, but coaching decisions cost the Buffaloes on Saturday night. Colorado running backs had just 10 rush attempts (for 21 yards) in a game where Kansas State never led by more than 14 points. That falls on offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Up 28-24 with 3:12 left, the Buffs allowed Kansas State to march 84 yards in three plays (51 seconds) for the game-winning touchdown. The questionable decision to bring pressure and play man coverage in that situation falls on defensive coordinator Robert Livingston.
Ultimately, it all falls on the shoulders of Deion Sanders. So too does the fact that Colorado had just one timeout to work with on its final drive after Kansas State scored the go-ahead touchdown. The wasteful use of timeouts earlier in the half partly prevented Shedeur Sanders from leading the Buffs to a late, game-tying field goal. Deion Sanders and his staff must improve their in-game management.
More:What Deion Sanders said after Colorado football’s loss vs Kansas State
Overreaction. There are people who actually watched Colorado’s loss to Kansas State and thought Shedeur Sanders was the problem. Was he perfect? No, but he was far from the reason why his team came up short. In fact, the Buffs likely would’ve gotten blown out by the well-coached Wildcats if Sanders didn’t do what he typically does.
Sanders completed 35 of his 40 pass attempts (85%) for 388 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Despite being sacked six times (he was at fault for at least two of them), his third passing touchdown of the game gave Colorado a four-point lead with 3:12 left. Sanders did all of that without Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Omarion Miller for most of the night, who all left early with injuries. A projected first-round draft pick often has to be nearly perfect to avoid criticism, especially when one is Deion Sanders’ son, but Shedeur played well enough on Saturday night to win against a top-20 team.
Not an overreaction. “I thought he played horrible.” That’s what Deion Sanders said of his son Shilo’s performance vs. Kansas State. The Colorado safety notched seven tackles (six solo) in his return from a three-game absence (forearm surgery), but it was the tackles he missed that cost his team on Saturday night.
Kansas State running back DJ Giddens ran for 182 yards and made Shilo’s knees buckle on at least one play. Rust was expected after a long layoff, but sophomore defensive back Carter Stoutmire played well in Shilo’s absence. Perhaps Stoutmire should’ve retained his starting spot in the secondary, or at least subbed in for Shilo once it became clear he wasn’t ready to play. Either way, Shilo hurt his team in a way that safeties typically never do and that will be something to watch for the rest of the season.
Not an overreaction. Travis Hunter’s shoulder injury looms large. Colorado’s season began to go downhill in 2023 when Hunter had to miss three games. If Hunter has to miss more than one game again this year, the same result could transpire. Deion Sanders didn’t have an update on the status of Hunter or any of the other receivers who were injured vs. Kansas State.
Jimmy Horn Jr. left the game with an unknown injury and didn’t return. Omarion Miller (who had a game-high 145 yards on eight catches) was seen in a wheelchair postgame. Terrell Timmons Jr. even got banged up and was unable to finish the game. Colorado’s receiving room is deep, but the Buffs need some good news on the injury front next week.
Overreaction. The Big 12 is wide open. Colorado is still in the thick of things and avoids the conference’s only two undefeated teams (BYU, Iowa State). Through three weeks of league play, the Buffs lead all Big 12 teams in scoring (114 points). A team led by a projected first-round draft pick that scores 28 points in its sleep has a chance in every game, especially if the defense looks like it did from Weeks 3-5 more times than not.
With games against Arizona, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Utah and Oklahoma State still on the schedule, Colorado truly controls its own destiny. And with all the parity across college football and the Big 12 this season, a run to the conference championship game can’t be ruled out for the Buffs at this point.
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