Deion Sanders and Colorado must ‘shake it off’ to end the season

Your correspondent was sitting at the airport in Kansas City, waiting to fly back to Denver after, the day before, witnessing the Jayhawks beat the Buffaloes. Dominant is one way of saying it. This old Denver TV sportsman is quite active on social media. Buffs fans like to talk about their beloved bison.

The talk centered on how puzzling that was, given the opportunity before Coach Prime’s team to truly create a season to remember: Win out in impressive fashion, and the door opens to win the Big 12 Championship, climb into the playoffs and secure a bye in the first round. For a program that won a single game two years ago, four last season to now be the talk of college football?

Wow. Scenarios like this do not occur often. The Buffers controlled their destiny and rolled over on their bellies in being battered. Kansas NEVER entered the game. Scored every time it tried. The tackle was terrible. Especially Shilo Sanders who was taken a few times and couldn’t finish. Kansas controlled the clock and kept Colorado’s quick-strike offense on the ground.

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A victorious Jayhawk said after the game. “We (KU)) just had more intensity from the start.” What? Colorado came into the game against Kansas in Missouri with EVERYTHING to play for and didn’t bother bringing the necessary intensity? What the hell is going on around here?

Thoughts go out to Gerry DiNardo. Now a television studio analyst, the 72-year-old analyst was offensive coordinator under McCartney, including the national championship in 1990. The personable guy went on to coach Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana. He is a respected voice in college football. A long-ago All American at Notre Dame, DiNardo has an opinion most people have about the current state of college football with the NIL money and transfer portal. “One of the most difficult things for head coaches today will be building a sustainable culture necessary to make it to the big moment.”

No one uses the transfer portal like the University of Colorado since Coach Prime appeared two years ago. It has worked to bring far greater talent to the foot of the Flatirons and far more spectators to Folsom Field. No question. But what was witnessed in the disappointing loss? How will a transfer-driven team fare in the big games?

This was a big game. The Buffs seemed lethargic from the start. I remember commenting to the closers in the press box about players being replaced in defence. Most jogged indifferently on the sidelines. There was no fire in the belly of the Buffs. In a game of this magnitude? A head scratcher.

It will be a new twist for college football going forward. Big game experience is invaluable. Colorado and most other major programs are going to, pretty dramatically, flip their rosters every year. It will be a real challenge to predict how all these annual newcomers will stack up when it’s their time to shine.

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Sanders after the game. “We had to read about how good we are and we didn’t come out and play Colorado football.” Amen coach. Now the question becomes: “How will the buffers react?”

Oklahoma State has been a mess all year. Disappointing season. Trust me, there’s nothing Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy would love more than to throw more wet blankets on Colorado’s feel-good story of newfound relevance. Gundy isn’t a big fan of the “Prime” earthquake and its fundamental rumblings in the college football world.

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Without a doubt, the Buffs still have a lot to play for moving forward. But they had an open gate to stomp through and continue to grow together and play well when the stakes are high. With the defense leading the way, that gate has been closed. They fell well short. The season finale and then a bowl game that Prime had promised superfan Peggy Coppom? While they wonder how the Buffs will respond to disappointment, maybe it could be a good rallying cry to finish strong with two wins to finish 10-3.

“Let’s make Peggy proud.” Who knows, maybe it can ease the pain of Arrowhead being let down for Colorado’s big dream season.