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Colorado fell behind 28-0 at halftime en route to a 28-10 road defeat to Nebraska on Saturday evening.
Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (23-of-38, 244 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) felt constant pressure all night, taking five sacks and 10 quarterback hits. He also took a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter from Nebraska linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who was ejected for targeting.
The Colorado offense was out of rhythm all evening because of the pressure, and Sanders had to make many plays on the run, with defenders in his face or with his back against the wall.
Colorado’s first five drives, which amassed a total of 12 yards, ended as follows: punt, turnover-on-downs, pick-six, punt and punt.
Tommi Hill returned a Sanders pass seven yards for a touchdown after Colorado faced a 1st-and-10 from its own two-yard line.
The PAT gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter. Colorado never recovered.
FOX College Football @CFBONFOX
PICK SIX NEBRASKA ๐ฑ@HuskerFootball pic.twitter.com/YYGTsj6f4o
Colorado fared better in the second half, scoring its lone touchdown after Sanders found LaJohntay Wester for a seven-yard score with 8:45 left. But it was too little and too late at that point.
There were some highlights. Two-way star Travis Hunter caught 10 passes for 110 yards, and Colorado’s defense shut Nebraska out in the second half.
But this game wasn’t in doubt after the first two quarters. Nebraska ran for 149 yards, and Dante Dowdell scored twice. True freshman Dylan Raiola was effective and efficient with 185 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-30 passing.
Ultimately, it was a brutal loss for Colorado, and Hall of Famer (and head coach) Deion Sanders ended up being a talking point.
Sanders took over a team that went 1-11 in 2022. Colorado quadrupled its win total in 2023, but the Buffaloes also finished last in the Pac-12 with a 1-8 conference record.
This year brought more hope in year two for Sanders’ program.
Colorado snuck by Division I-FBS North Dakota State 31-26 in its first game, but the squad suffered a brutal defeat in Week 2.
There’s a lot of season left, but given how the team failed to protect Sanders and fared in the first half overall, there was much criticism of the head coach on Saturday evening.
Grant Paulsen @granthpaulsen
There are going to be a bunch of college football media members barred from asking Deion Sanders questions this week.
Derek Ryan @longhornderek
Can we all just move on from the Deion and Shedeur Sanders hype train? https://t.co/naejHEpPp1
Mr. Duolingo @ConorJDooley_94
Deion Sanders is one of the worst football coaches I’ve ever seen at the college or pro level
Every week this Colorado team is unprepared, undisciplined, unaware, and unimpressive
Austin @kozl93
The Deion Sanders experiment is over. This Colorado team is so undisciplined. This is what happens when you refuse to recruit, rely strictly on the transfer portal, & let the coaches sons have way too much of a platform.
Will Kunkel @WillKunkelFOX
Deion Sanders has done some AMAZING things for Colorado โ building a good football team isn’t one of them.
Synthetic Sports @SyntheticSports
Colorado year 1 vs year 2 under Deion Sanders pic.twitter.com/gWZUbrmjrZ
George Wrighster III @georgewrighster
I really hope Deion Sanders has learned his lesson…
YOU CANNOT BUILD AN O-LINE THOUGH THE TRANSFER PORTAL.
It doesn’t matter how good your weapons are if you can’t get them the ball
Denver Broncos 365 @DailyBroncos
At some point, Deion Sanders ability to coach needs to be questioned
Mike Gill @MikeGillShow
Deion Sanders is not qualified to coach D1 football โข He is a tremendous marketing guy for Colorado, but a horrendous football coach.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ยฎ @fcckjulius
deion sanders should’ve stayed at jackson state if he was going to coach like this in the big leagues. You can’t blame the players all the time. This is also a coaching staff problem
Dustin Tran @dustinstran
Deion Sanders needs to be getting RIPPED by the media moving forward. Honeymoon for Deion Sanders should be over at #Colorado.
Tapouts & Touchdowns Podcast @TapoutsandTDs
Can we finally admit that Deion Sanders only looked like a good coach because he was taking D1 talent to play an FCS schedule? Anyone without blinders on saw this comingโthey shouldn’t have even beaten NDSU last week #Colorado #collegefootball
STL Sports @Cards_Blues
Deion Sanders hype train officially off the rails as Nebraska drills Colorado?
Alex Roberts @Arob5902
Deion Sanders has been completely outclassed in this game. His scheme was picked apart on the first play. The team is undisciplined, they lack focus, they cannot make plays when it matters. They look lost and flustered. Just awful from top to bottom.
Colorado will hope for a rebound on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET when the team visits Colorado State.
