The Buffs are in need of some soul searching after epic collapse

Friday the 13th, 2023 will forever be an infamous date in Colorado Buffaloes history. On a night universally associated with bad luck, the Buffs suffered arguably their worst collapse in program history, squandering a 29-point halftime lead to Stanford and falling at home in double overtime. The hottest team in the country at the start of the season is cooling at an alarming rate.

But why?

***

Attitude Adjustment

For starters, the personality of this Buffs team has changed dramatically throughout the first half of the season. Prior to the game against TCU, Colorado embraced the identity of the plucky underdog. A one-win team a year ago that, despite the flashy hire at head coach, was going to have to prove themselves against the national runner-up or get exposed.

Fueled by a desire to shed the stigma from the previous season, they outdueled the Horned Frogs, then kicked down college football’s door with electric scoring performances against Nebraska and Colorado State to improve to 3-0 in front of virtually every eyeball in the country.

As a team, their heads were high, their chests were out, and their confidence was right where it needed to be. Sanders, a spotlight savant, publicly called out media members and fans left and right, promising to show those who doubted him that this team was for real. He took those slights, both real and imagined, and turned them into motivation in a way that would’ve made even Michael Jordan proud.

And then, it seems, something happened.

In the wake of an unadulterated drubbing at the hands of ninth-ranked Oregon, the Buffs revealed a side of themselves that had previously gone unseen. Rather than absorbing the doubt and disrespect and using it for motivation, they themselves began issuing the disrespect.

Just weeks after Shedeur Sanders and others went viral for confronting Matt Rhule and Nebraska about unsavory comments and standing on the Buff logo at center field, video emerged of Colorado players scraping their cleats across the “O” at the center of Autzen Stadium and shouting disrespectful taunts at Oregon’s players and coaches during pregame warmups.

Ducks vs. Them: Game 4 Cinematic Recap. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/5PgrZNoaNU

— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) September 26, 2023

As a team, it’s one thing to gain confidence in yourselves, even if it borders on cockiness. But embodying the very thing you fought so hardly against at the start of the season? That an entirely separate issue, and it highlights another problematic trend.

***

Blinded by the Light

Deion Sanders lives in the spotlight. Very few people on Earth have embraced it as strongly as he has, for as long as he has. And after unpacking his Louis luggage in the form of 86 new players, it’s clear the 2023 Buffaloes were remade in his image.

And while that strategy has helped Colorado see an influx of talent unlike any in recent memory, the team’s current skid shows that it comes with its fair share of challenges as well.

For one, none of the young men under Sanders’ influence are truly “built” like him. He’s a rare breed. Beyond the absurd athleticism, his focus, passion and drive set him apart from even some of the game’s most prominent alumni. That’s a tough bar to set when it comes to building a roster.

“It’s hard for me because I love this. I love it,” Sanders said. “Without a shadow of a doubt, I am truly 100% in love with this thing and I just want people to match me. Just match my passion, match my heart, match my love, match my consistency; just match my mannerisms. Just match every darn thing I give to this game. I love this.”

"They gotta make up in their mind are they in love with this game or in like with it?… I'm truly 100% in love with this thing and I just want people to match me."

Deion Sanders speaks about his love for the game after Colorado's loss tonight ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tj14EhihnZ

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 14, 2023

As has been the case time and time again, athletes who perform at the highest level, who possess such immense natural ability within the realm of their sport, often struggle to find and/or bring out those talents in others. John Elway struggled finding his quarterback. Wayne Gretzky wasn’t The Great One behind a clipboard. The list goes on.

There’s likely another, deeper, issue brewing inside that locker room, though. While this year’s squad is head and shoulders above most Buffs teams in recent history, it may have a flimsy foundation. With so many incoming and departing faces in such a short amount of time, the team is essentially made up of talented football mercenaries. Players from across the country who jumped on board the Prime hype train as it made its way to Boulder because it gave them a chance to boost their profile.

That environment is stable when the team is winning, but the second things start to slip, the cracks begin to widen. After the humiliating loss to Stanford, even Coach Prime began to acknowledge it.

“What I just said in the locker room to the team is they gotta make up in their mind, are they in love with this game or are they in like with it?” Sanders said. “Because when you love something you give to it unconditionally, you give everything you’ve got to it. But when you like it, it’s just the button you push and it lights up in a ‘like.’ That’s what they do on social media.”

When asked if he sees the sentiment his father mentioned within the locker room, Shedeur didn’t squash the narrative.

“Possibly. I feel like it could be that way everywhere in the county, but we possibly could have it too,” Shedeur said. “That’s not up for me to decide.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the current situation. While this year’s team is undoubtably in a better situation than it was just one season ago, they still have quite a hill to climb. Players whose attitudes don’t match that of their head coach and are focused more on themselves than the team will have a much more difficult time achieving success.

For the Buffs to ultimately get where they want to go, where they’re capable of going, they’re going to need to do some serious soul searching moving forward.

***