The Colorado Buffaloes suffered just their third loss of the season today against a strong and tenacious Kansas Jayhawks. Deion Sander’s team came into the game on the back of a 4-game winning run and control of their destiny to take on the 4-6 side.
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But suffered what could be their most crucial loss of the season. So why did an in-form side, led by Shedeur Sanders, playing free-flowing football stumble today?
Well, according to Coach Prime, they got ahead of themselves and start thinking about the finish line and prize a bit too early. The constant praise and articles about his team didn’t help matters. Deion said,
” 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.”
When asked about his father’s analogy that some players on the team were “intoxicated with success,” Shedeur Sanders took a measured approach. Refusing to single anyone out or assign blame, he admitted, “I’m just an overconfident person myself,” adding that this self-awareness puts him in no position to judge others or call out anyone for arrogance.
Shedeur emphasized that the team practices and prepares together, but what his teammates do outside of that is beyond his control. He acknowledged that even he occasionally loses focus, catching himself worrying about what others might be thinking.
“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. But their chances are still alive mathematically. When asked if the championship is still in sight and if the team is still thinking about it, Shedeur Sanders admitted that he doesn’t know how the whole equation works.
While he may not point fingers, fans can and it all points to their wretched defense. The 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 gave all season in a single game.
Their own run game, which showed flashes last week, was non-existent today, accounting for only 42 yards. Shedeur was their lead rusher tonight with 26 yards.
To make the Championship, they must win their last game against Oklahoma State. The Buffaloes also need BYU to lose two games and, Arizona State or Iowa State to lose another game. Lucky for them, BYU lost to Arizona this week. But Colorado themselves are third seed now in the conference.
Only a win in the Championship guarantees them a place in playoffs. But this doesn’t happen, they will still get to play a Bowl game for the first time since 2016.
