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Just when it seemed like Deion Sanders and Colorado football had finally put it all together, they ran into the buzzsaw known as Kansas. In fact, the Buffaloes (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) might want to avoid the state of Kansas altogether for a while.
Before Saturday, Colorado’s last loss had come against Kansas State. Since then, the Buffaloes had rattled off four straight wins and positioned themselves as contenders for the Big 12 title game and a potential College Football Playoff berth. Those aspirations were dashed, however, as the Jayhawks (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) handed Colorado a decisive 37-21 defeat.
The loss marked Colorado’s second conference loss of the season (third overall), dealing a severe blow to their chances of reaching the Big 12 Championship.
“We controlled our own destiny,” head coach Deion Sanders said afterward, per ESPN. “And we fumbled it.”
Now, Sanders and the Buffaloes face the daunting task of relying on a complex series of tiebreaker scenarios—ones that might challenge even a calculus major—to regain a shot at the title game. While there have been more lopsided defeats during the Sanders era in Boulder, this loss to Kansas may be the most disappointing, given the stakes. And with that, there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado offense not potent enough in Kansas loss
Even though Shedeur Sanders threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns and Travis Hunter tallied 125 receiving yards with two scores, it wasn’t enough for Colorado to overcome Kansas. This marked the Buffaloes’ second-lowest point total of the season, behind only their 10-point output against Nebraska.
For an offense averaging 33.1 points per game, managing just 21 points against a Jayhawks defense that allows 26.4 per game was a disappointing showing.
Built to thrive in high-scoring shootouts, the Buffaloes’ offense struggled to keep pace as Kansas jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Colorado found the end zone. Despite leaning heavily on their Heisman Trophy candidate in Hunter, the Buffaloes managed just one second-half score, leaving them unable to mount a comeback.
Colorado defense can't stop Kansas' Devin Neal
Colorado's defense, which had quietly become one of the stronger units on the team this season, delivered its worst performance of the year against Kansas. The improvement under new defensive coordinator Sean Livingston, especially along the defensive line, had been a bright spot for the Buffaloes, but Saturday’s effort fell far short of expectations.
The Buffaloes allowed a season-high 520 total yards, with Kansas averaging 6.7 yards per play. Surprisingly, only 189 of those yards came through the air. The real damage came on the ground, where Kansas’ rushing attack amassed a staggering 331 yards at 5.8 yards per carry. Devin Neal led the charge with 37 carries for 207 yards and three touchdowns, adding four catches for 80 yards and another score.
Kansas entered Saturday's game on a hot streak. After winning just two games earlier this season, the Jayhawks have now taken four of their last five, including three straight victories against ranked opponents: No. 17 Iowa State, No. 6 BYU, and No. 16 Colorado.
For Colorado, the moment may have simply been too big, or as head coach Deion Sanders suggested, the team might have gotten ahead of itself.
“We started smelling ourselves a little bit,” Sanders said via Yahoo Sports. “That’s what I just told our team. We got intoxicated with the success. We got intoxicated with the multitude of articles and the assumption that we’re this and the assumption that we’re that. And we did not play CU football. Therefore, we got our butts kicked.”
