BOULDER — Leave it to Deion Sanders to refer to a Brazilian butt lift when trying to explain how his team got its (bleep) kicked last weekend.
He was citing society’s obsession with instant gratification — pizza with a phone call, dinner dashed to our doorstep. You know, how nobody has patience anymore.
It is fair after watching what unfolded Saturday night if that patience is starting to wear thin with Coach Prime.
He was the most celebrated hire in school history. He made CU relevant, attracting TV networks to the games, NFL Hall of Famers to the sidelines.
Three years into this experiment, the reality no longer matches the hype. The Buffs are a laughingstock again.
And let’s be honest, in the current college landscape, coaches making $10.8 million per year don’t get the luxury of rebuilding seasons or failing to qualify for a bowl — even a bad one. CU requires victories in its final three games at West Virginia, against Arizona State and on the road versus Kansas State to be eligible for the postseason.
Good luck.
Arizona mauled the Buffs, 52-17, on a chilly night before 48,223 fans at Folsom Field. The first smattering of boos cascaded down after CU’s second offensive play. Half of those in attendance never wandered back to their seats after halftime.
It is getting harder to see the whippings as an aberration. When a team gets outscored 81-7 in the first half in back-to-back weeks, it seems like what is happening on the field is a symptom of larger dysfunction. The Buffs have one conference win. Only Oklahoma State, which canned legendary coach Mike Gundy in September, is worse.
Coach Prime handpicked this coaching staff and this overhauled roster. And the Buffs have done nothing well over the past two games. They fall behind, they miss tackles, they turn the ball over, and they lack discipline, which spawns visible anger and on-field arguments.
“Don’t attack the players, come at me. Don’t attack the coordinators, come at me,” Sanders said, opening his news conference with a directive and announcing no players would be made available to talk.
OK? So what went wrong?
“I have no idea,” Sanders said, before hinting he was holding back his thoughts. “If I knew where the disconnect was, I would tell you.”
At halftime, CU trailed by 31 and had more penalties (nine) than points (seven).
A loss like this, it goes looking for people to blame, and it does not go wanting. The only hard part is where to start. A sequence in the second quarter captured problems that go far beyond the personnel to the leadership of the program.
Quarterback Kaidon Salter, who was mercifully benched, delivered a 75-yard scoring strike to Sincere Brown when CU still had hope. The touchdown, and assumed point after, would have cut the deficit to 24-14. But a scan of the field showed as much yellow as black and gold.
Omarion Miller was ruled an ineligible receiver downfield, suggesting he lined up wrong since, well, he is a receiver. How does that happen?
Worse, the Buffs were pushed back another 15 yards for offensive lineman Yahya Attia “brandishing a weapon” while taunting an Arizona player. Finger guns? Really?
The offense was terrible, collecting 117 yards in the first half while receiving a Bronx cheer when it made its initial first down.
Coordinator Pat Shurmur has been something less than competent for years, so we really should not start the finger-pointing there.
What about Salter? He has been a disappointment since the season opener and stayed true to form. As did backup Ryan Staub, whose first two passes were interceptions.
Those who stuck around in the second half witnessed five-star prospect Julian Lewis connect on a 59-yard strike to Miller for the first touchdown of his career. But, even that created questions — namely, is he going to play the final three games and burn his redshirt season? If so, why?
“Common sense,” Sanders said. “I don’t know his thought process or his parents’. I just can control what we can control. I am for the kids. If (a redshirt) is what he wants, that is what he will get.”
Defensive boss Robert Livingston must be held accountable for his unit’s shortcomings. He lacks beef up front, a trademark of all of the teams under Coach Prime, leaving CU susceptible to any team that likes to run the ball. But the poor tackling, the lack of physicality, the bad angles, the blown assignments, remain jarring.
All of the improvement Livingston fostered last season seemed like a long time ago when Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita stepped up into a pressure-free pocket and found Javin Whatley streaking wide open for a touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half. The referee on the goal line shrugged and slowly raised his arms in the air, unsure if he was inbounds. It is always best to assume the worst against this defense.
No, this loss wasn’t the fault of Shurmur, Livingston, Salter, Staub, or any forgettable defender. It is on the man who hired them, recruited them and coaches them.
Sanders talks about practice more than Allen Iverson. He promised things would change after getting walloped 53-7 by Utah. He was right. The Buffs got worse.
Sanders brought in the latest gold jacket to campus this week with Ray Lewis questioning the players — “If you guys don’t believe in each other, how do you win?” — and pleading for them to improve communication and take their preparation seriously.
Lewis was not wrong. But eventually, the message is just background noise in a lost season.
The sobering truth is that these are not the good old days — like 2024, when Coach Prime could stack the roster with skill players, notably his son Shedeur and Heisman Trophy-winner Travis Hunter, and deliver a winning record.
Without generational talent on offense, the details become amplified. College has become the NFL with the money paid to players and coaches.
You cannot miss on evaluations, especially at quarterback, running back and the offensive line. Prime gets guys who want to work and play for him. But what is he doing for them in terms of Xs and Os?
Coaching matters. Schemes matter. Improving during the week is non-negotiable.
“I don’t doubt me,” Sanders said. “Or my confidence level in doing the job.”
The Buffs stink right now. And it is not just on the players and assistants.
Coach Prime has to own this mess, or there is no reason to believe it will get fixed.
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