There was every reason to think that Colorado’s football team would not only beat Stanford on Friday night but win convincingly. The Buffaloes were at home, had the better record and most importantly, led 29-0 at halftime. But they didn’t win. Stanford forced overtime and ended up winning 46-43.
And as one might expect, Colorado coach Deion Sanders was not happy with the game’s final result.
Sanders noted that while the Buffaloes were up 29-0 halftime, he saw complacency in them at the end of the first half. That complacency then manifested itself in the second half, when Stanford outscored Colorado 19-0 to get back into the game. One of the three touchdowns the Cardinal scored was a 97-yard reception from Elic Ayomanor, which the coach said was “when it all started.”
"It all started when we gave up a 97-yard touchdown. Which was flat-out ridiculous. That's when it all started. That's when all the foolishness, all the complacency, all the mess started. How in the world do we give up — Jesus."
— Colorado Coach Deion Sanders pic.twitter.com/qM15W8L640
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 14, 2023
The criticism did not stop there, with Sanders saying that Colorado is “not built for the moment right now.”
“Right now we’re not built for the moment. Some of our players aren’t built for the moment where they have to make a play or they have to keep contain or they have to make a block or they have to get another yard. We’re not built for the moment right now.” pic.twitter.com/zqIkiQw1Pe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 14, 2023
One of the biggest issues for Colorado was penalties. The Buffaloes committed 17 on the night, a bigger number than Coach Sanders even thought. He attributed that to “Not being smart. Not being disciplined. Not understanding the moment.”
Deion Sanders on Colorado’s 17 penalties vs. Stanford.
“I didn’t know it was that many…Not being smart. Not being disciplined. Not understanding the moment. That’s what that is.” pic.twitter.com/6PhIxtKnI9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 14, 2023
It’s certainly hard to argue with Sanders’ assessment that the team wasn’t smart. Stanford deserves ample credit for the comeback. You will not see many performances better than Ayomanor. The Stanford receiver caught 13 passes for 294 yards with three touchdowns.
But as great as Ayomanor and the rest of the Cardinal were, Stanford scored a touchdown to trim the lead to 29-26 early in the fourth quarter. That touchdown happened in part because Travis Hunter committed a personal foul that gave the Cardinal an automatic first down. Without that, Stanford was facing a fourth-and-22 and was likely to try to a near-50-yard field goal.
Stanford was going to have 4th-and-22 at the Colorado 31-yard line… and Travis Hunter got called for a personal foul. pic.twitter.com/druFFfmVe5
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 14, 2023
And Stanford won with a field goal in double overtime, which came after Colorado came up empty in its possession. Shedeur Sanders was intercepted in the end zone.
Shedeur Sanders is picked off by Stanford on 3rd and goal in 2OT!pic.twitter.com/14iznxKQ1J
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 14, 2023
Had he thrown the ball away, the Buffaloes would likely have had a field goal, at least forcing the Cardinal to score a touchdown to win.
Sanders has already made Colorado a much better team than it’s been recently. The Buffaloes were a combined 5-19 over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Even after Friday’s rough loss, they’re 4-3.
But Friday’s performance showed that as much as Colorado has improved, there are still a lot of improvements to be made in Boulder.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]
