TEMPE, Ariz. — Deion Sanders watched his team line up for the winning field goal with his arms crossed. The Colorado coach took a couple of steps onto the field at Mountain America Stadium to get a better view.
Sanders fumed. No one knew this, except maybe the assistant coaches in the press box connected to Sanders through a headset. The Buffaloes, once the biggest story in sports, have slipped. The previous two weeks, losing to powerhouses Oregon and USC, were excusable. Needing a last-minute field goal to beat struggling Arizona State was not.
Advertisement
Sanders watched Alejandro Mata’s attempt from 43 yards. He raised his arms. The ball sailed through the uprights. Sanders walked out on the field and playfully pushed Mata, telling him, “It’s your moment, baby. Live it.” Three plays later, Colorado celebrated a 27-24 win, entering the season’s halfway point at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12.
For a program that has undergone a complete makeover, it’s not so bad. But for Sanders, grappling with the team he has and the team he wants it to become, more is expected. He made that clear after the game, ripping his team publicly pretty much for the first time this season.
More than 40 reporters crammed into the Colorado postgame press conference, more than USC and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams attracted just two weeks earlier in the same room. That’s the drawing power of Sanders. After thanking everyone for showing up, the coach glanced at the stat sheet. Then he unloaded.
“Wonderful win — we played like hot garbage,” Sanders said. “I’m trying to figure this out. Sick of it. I really am. I’m sick of us coming out and putting forth the effort we put forth in the first half. … We’re better than that. We got to start showing that. I expect to win in a better fashion than that.”
The Colorado story has lost some sizzle. This was bound to happen. Early wins over TCU (3-3) and Nebraska (3-3) haven’t held up well. Two-way star Travis Hunter remains out with a lacerated liver. Reality has settled in. Reality can be tough.
“Played like hot garbage, and I’m trying to figure this out. I’m sick of it. I really am.”
Deion Sanders on Colorado (4-1) escaping with a win at ASU, 27-24. This is the most upset Deion has been in a Colorado postgame press conference this season thus far. pic.twitter.com/QRs21jkh6H
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) October 8, 2023
The Pac-12 is a difficult climb this season. Washington, USC and Oregon are College Football Playoff contenders. Washington State, Oregon State and Utah are Top 25 teams. Colorado falls somewhere in the middle. A team caught between substance and hype.
“I have greater expectations,” Sanders said. “We’re better than this. We really are.”
Advertisement
Sanders’ irritation had nothing to do with rebuilding Arizona State, which dropped to 1-5 and 0-3. Leading up to Saturday’s contest he praised first-year coach Kenny Dillingham, telling reporters he once had talked with Dillingham about a staff position for a job opportunity that did not work out.
(Sanders also gave a tremendous explanation for Arizona State’s self-imposed bowl ban, even though he didn’t fully understand the reasons behind it: “My mom used to hand out whuppin’s back in the day,’’ Sanders said. “So if I did something stupid, I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t even want to go to the game tonight. I’m not even going because I know that would lessen the whuppin’.’ So if that’s what they’re doing — I understand. Because I’ve done that before.”)
Strong starts had been emphasized, yet Colorado trailed the Sun Devils 17-14 at halftime. Better protection had been emphasized (Colorado entered next to last among FBS teams in sacks allowed), yet quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, was knocked around all game, getting sacked three times.
“I thought I lit the fire up under every-dern-body that needed their fire to be lit,” Sanders said. “Obviously, it hadn’t registered.”
In the press conference, a reporter asked Shedeur Sanders about sitting on the bench by himself after getting sacked in the third quarter. The quarterback played it cool, saying he was just evaluating his mistakes, realizing it was time to make winning plays.
Asked the same question, Deion Sanders had a different answer. “He’s mad,” the coach said. “He’s upset with the way this looks. He’s upset with the way it’s going. He’s upset with hit after hit after hit. You think he’s happy being the most sacked guy in college football?”
Late in the fourth quarter, Arizona State drove 94 yards to knot the contest 24-24 with 50 seconds remaining. Sanders fumed. “There’s no way (that should happen),” he said. “No way.” On the sideline, in the same stadium in which Sanders once won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys, his son remained calm.
Advertisement
Shedeur Sanders said he thought Arizona State left too much time on the clock. His thoughts: “It’s time.” To that point, Sanders had played an uneven game. Every time he seemed to find a rhythm, Arizona State’s pressure got to him. Not this time.
On first down, Sanders spotted Javon Antonio racing down the left sideline behind Arizona State’s secondary. Sanders, who completed 26 of 42 for 239 yards and a touchdown, placed the football perfectly, a 43-yard pickup. Four plays later, Mata kicked the winning field goal. Deion Sanders celebrated on the field. He did not in the locker room.
“I’m sick of these consistent holes that we’re displaying and the penalties,” Sanders said. “We’re so much better. I apologize for my anger, but I don’t accept mediocrity. Maybe you do, maybe you can live with it. Maybe you sleep with it. Maybe you’re comfortable with it. But I’m not.”
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
