Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes eliminated from bowl contention after loss

It will be another losing season for Deion Sanders as Colorado’s head football coach.

After a 29-22 loss to West Virginia Saturday, Sanders’ Buffaloes were eliminated from bowl contention and will finish with a losing record for the second time in three seasons.

“This is not who we are. We’re better than this, and they deserve better than this. I want better than this. I feel like I coach better than this. I feel like we got players that are so much better than what the production is that we’re putting out,” Sanders said after the game.

“So, then, you got to identify the coaches, that’s us, and that starts with me, because I feel like we got the nucleus inside the locker room that we should be getting it done. I don’t think we played a team that’s this athletically and physically better than us. I really don’t, and I’ll stand on that.”

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Many critics wondered how Sanders’ squad would perform in 2025 after the departure of his quarterback son, Shedeur Sanders, and two-way star Travis Hunter, to the NFL.

Shedeur and Hunter had been staples of Deion’s college coaching career dating back to his first two seasons at Jackson State.

Ahead of Saturday’s must-win game, Sanders named five-star freshman Julian Lewis the team’s starting quarterback. Lewis threw two touchdown passes in his first collegiate start. 

The team had cycled between quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub in their first nine games.

Now, Lewis has officially lost his redshirt status with just two games left in a lost season.

Last year, Colorado went 9-4, and Sanders signed a five-year, $54 million extension that puts him under contract through 2029.

Colorado athletic director Rick George expressed confidence in Sanders earlier this week. 

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“I’m proud of Coach Prime. It’s been a tough year what he’s been through. He’s been a trooper, been working hard, motivating. He’s doing the things I want him to do as coach. We just gotta win more FB games,” George told reporters.

In July, Sanders announced doctors had removed his bladder after the discovery of a tumor. 

Sanders said there has been no evidence of cancer since the surgery.

Doctors said a section of Sanders’ intestine was reconstructed to function as a bladder. Sanders faced questions about whether he’d be up for coaching after his health scare, but he remains steadfast in his commitment to Colorado.

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