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It will be another losing season for Deion Sanders as the Colorado head football coach.
After a 29-22 loss to West Virginia on Saturday, Sanders’ Buffaloes are eliminated from bowl contention and will finish with a losing record for the second time in three seasons.
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Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders Oct. 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
“This is not who we are. We’re better than this and they deserve better than this. I want better than this. I feel like I’m coaching better than this. I feel like we have players that are so much better than the production we’re putting out,” Sanders said after the game.
“So then you have to identify the coaches, that’s us, and it starts with me, because I feel like we’ve got that core inside the locker room that we should get it done. I don’t think we played a team that’s that athletic and physical better than us. I really don’t, and I’ll stand by that.”
DEION SANDERS DENYS BIGGEST SURPRISE AT COLORADO HOME GAME: ‘IT NEVER FAILS’
Deion Sanders, center, with his sons Shedeur Sanders, left, and Deion Sanders Jr. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Many critics wondered how Sanders’ team would fare in 2025 after his quarterback son, Shedeur Sanders, and two-way star Travis Hunter left the NFL.
Shedeur and Hunter had been staples in Deion’s college coaching career dating back to his first two seasons at Jackson State.
Ahead of Saturday’s must-win game, Sanders named five-star freshman Julian Lewis the team’s starting quarterback. Lewis threw two touchdown passes in his first collegiate start.
The team had cycled between quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub across the first nine games of the year.
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks the sideline Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va. (Ben Queen/Imagn Images)
Now Lewis has officially lost his redshirt status, with just two games remaining in a lost season.
Last year, Colorado went 9-4 as Sanders went on to sign a five-year, $54 million extension that puts him under contract through 2029.
Colorado Athletic Director Rick George expressed confidence in Sanders earlier this week.
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“I’m proud of Coach Prime. It’s been a tough year he’s been through. He’s been a trooper, worked hard, motivated. He’s doing the things I want him to do as a coach. We’ve just got to win more FB games,” George told reporters.
In July, Sanders announced doctors had removed his bladder after the discovery of a tumor.
Sanders said there have been no signs of cancer since the surgery.
Doctors said part of Sanders’ intestine was reconstructed to function as a bladder. Sanders faced questions about whether he would be ready to coach after his health scare, but he remains steadfast in his commitment to Colorado.
