The Colorado Buffaloes suffered just their third loss of the season today against a tenacious Kansas Jayhawks. Coming into the matchup on the back of a four-game winning streak, the Buffaloes seemed in full control of their destiny in the Championship. Not anymore. The loss has also asked questions of the side, and the answers given post-match were pretty vague. Coach Deion Sanders talked about players getting “intoxicated with success”, while star QB Shedeur refused to call out any of his teammates, stating that he was also an “overconfident” person.
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The reality is that the Buffaloes have suffered a loss at a crucial time of the season. So why did an in-form side which plays free-flowing football stumble?
Coach Prime said they got ahead of themselves and started thinking about the finish line a bit too early. The media attention didn’t help matters either.
“We started smelling ourselves a little bit. We got intoxicated with success. We got intoxicated with the multitudes of articles and the assumption that we were this and the assumption that we were that and we did not play CU football,” said Deion.
When asked about his father’s “intoxicated” comment Shedeur took a measured approach, insisting that he is in no position to judge others for arrogance.
Shedeur said that the team practices and prepares together, but what his teammates do outside of that is beyond his control. While acknowledging that even he occasionally loses focus, Shedeur said:
“I can’t spot that on anybody else and say they are overconfident. I’m not sure. We all did our job preparing and doing that so whatever people did on their personal side, mentally you won’t be able to know.”
The loss gave a jolt to their chances of making the Big 12 Conference Championship and the playoffs. Mathematically they are still alive in the race. However, Shedeur admitted that he doesn’t know how the equation works.
Both Shedeur and Deion refused to put the blame on anyone or anything specific. However, it was evident that their defense had faltered against the Jayhawks, who are now 5-6 for the season with the 37-21 victory.
The Buffaloes defense gave up 520 total yards of offense and couldn’t stop the Jayhawks’ run game all night, giving up 330 yards on the ground. This was the highest points they have conceded all season in a single game.
Their own run game was non-existent, accounting for only 42 yards. Shedeur was their lead rusher with 26 yards.
To make the Championship, the equation is complex, and depends on the performance of other teams. No wonder Shedeur was noncommittal about the math involved.
Colorado, who are 8-3 now, must win their last game against bottom dwellers Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Buffaloes also need BYU to lose their final game, and, either Arizona State or Iowa State to lose another game. Luckily, BYU’s loss to Arizona this week has given Colorado a mathematical lifeline.
However, Colorado are third seed in the conference now. And, only a win in the Championship would guarantee them a place in the playoffs. If this doesn’t happen, they will still get to play a Bowl game for the first time since 2016.
