Buffs blow upset bid at buzzer, Prime’s flaws on display again

We can talk about the restoration of the Colorado Buffaloes, Deion Sanders improving the program and football once again mattering in Boulder.

We could keep talking about Sanders and his undoubtedly positive impact during his first year coaching the Buffs. But what we need to talk about now is his in-game decisions, which have consistently hurt CU. When pressed on the issue, Coach Prime wanted to change what we should be talking about.

“Can we start off with that, about that great decision you made coach? I don’t need you to slap me on my back because I’m good, my arms can reach back there,” Sanders said.

The Buffaloes bowl hopes were likely dashed for this fall as their upset bid over No. 21 Arizona was busted at the buzzer on Saturday. The Wildcats won 34-31 in Folsom Field’s season finale thanks to a short field goal as time expired in what was a very winnable game for CU. The loss dropped the Buffs to 4-6 (1-6) and another time this season that first-year head coach Sanders’ shortcomings were put on the podium for all to see.

Colorado got off to a hot start in failed NFL coach Pat Shurmur’s second game calling plays for the Buffaloes, scoring 24 first-half points. Yet the wallow dried as the Buffaloes were held to just seven in the second half. And it was the decisions to thrice punt on fourth-and-short from midfield that seemingly haunted. Sure, Colorado did force Arizona quickly off the field six times and win the field position but they needed points not position.

“What if you don’t get those? What happens—the other team gets momentum, they go down to score, and now you’re saying, ‘Oh my god, he should’ve…’ You guys are gonna second guess every darn thing,” Sanders said. “I’m at practice every day. I know these young men, I’m on the headset, I hear the calls, and I know what is transpiring right there. I know the feeling in the mood of the team. Just so happens that I think we punted the ball to the two, and then we held them and they had to punt; what happened? We score; why didn’t you say nothing about that? I think that was a pretty good decision, wasn’t it? Can we start off with that, about that great decision you made coach? I don’t need you to slap me on my back because I’m good. Because my arms can reach back there. But I really just want you to understand these decisions are based on knowledge. We’re not guessing they’re based on what we do in practice in the situations we have in practice. I have situations in practice that I will say fourth and one on this yard line that we don’t get it consecutively. What do you think I’m gonna do in the game? That’s what I did.”

Whether Sanders shouldn’t have or should have gone for it in those three instances can be written off. What we can’t overlook is the multiple errors that led to the last-second game-winning field goal for the ‘Cats, a microcosm for the game as a whole, and Prime’s impact on it. Whenever the Buffs looked poised to win, a penalty combined with a coaching error let them off the hook.

With 10:04 left in the fourth of a 31-31 game, Colorado had the ball at their own 44-yard line on third-and-one. Instead of going with a surprisingly decent running game on the day, Shurmur and staff showcased Shedeur Sanders. An incomplete pass brought fourth down and the decision for the Buffs to punt.

It worked this time around, with CU forcing Arizona off the field in three plays, and the Buffs got the ball back at midfield with 7:06 to play. Sanders found Xavier Weaver for a first down then Anthony Hankerson took Colorado to the 24-yard line. Sanders was then incomplete on second down, and before they could get a chance on third and six, the Buffaloes jumped early. Sanders scrambled to the ‘Cats 25 yard line where Alejandro Mata lined up for a 44-yard field goal to give the Buffaloes a lead with just under five minutes to play.

Because the special teams unit was late getting out, Sanders was forced to use his first timeout. Then the Jackson State transfer who is playing over the heavily recruited Jace Feely missed what would’ve been his career-long.

Arizona marched down the field and clock. The biggest play came at Colorado’s six-yard line with 1:04 in the fourth quarter. It was a third and three and the rule was pretty simple. Hope to stop them, call a timeout, and get the ball back down three with a minute to play. But if the ‘Cats can pick up the three yards, let them take another three yards and score since Sanders could only stop the clock twice.

Of all the people to break the Buffs, it was a beloved member of the Boulder community Montana Lemonious-Craig who landed the final blow. The wide receiver who transferred to Arizona this spring had three productive seasons at Folsom Field. He stuck out the initial wave of talk where he was told he wasn’t Louis and even struck up a friendship with CU’s new quarterback. After starring in the Buffs spring game this year, he and any others still left in the program from the past regime were again told to leave by the current staff. This time MLC headed the advice and departed, leaving just 10 returning players on the team that took the field Saturday.

And it was Lemonious-Craig on Saturday, who left the Buffs without a last-ditch chance. On the third down he picked up the first and a perfect five yards—then was tackled by a herd of Buffaloes. Exactly what Arizona wanted.

“We’re still fighting. Yeah, we still fighting to that point,” Sanders said he didn’t instruct his team to let the opposition score if they picked up the first, seemingly not understanding the situation even in the postgame. “We still fighting we’re not thinking about letting them score a touchdown at that point. Because now you’re thinking hold on to a field goal because you got a negative field goal and he he back in the game you tie the game. So you’re not thinking that at that point.”

Sanders could only stop the clock twice—one time too short—letting the ‘Cats bleed time and take the 24-yard field goal as the clock struck zero.

“Everything needs tightening, I’m not perfect. We’re not perfect by any means. You can always second guess everything,” Sanders said. “But if you’re on the headset and you’re hearing things and you’re seeing what’s happening and you know your shortcomings and you know, the positive that you have, you may have a whole different perspective. If you can hear and see what’s transpiring. Shoot. Eleven penalties played a tremendous role. And they’re not coached to do that. So please take that into consideration. They’re not coached to hit a quarterback late they’re not coached to jump offside. They’re not coached to hold, nobody does that. That just happened this part of the game. We just got to be a little more disciplined in those moments.”

One of the pillars of Prime’s program is discipline Colorado’s worst in FBS with 9.33 penalties per game, a number that goes up again after Saturday. Sure, Sanders isn’t himself jumping offsides, though there’s been no improvement in something so core to his program it’s plastered on the team’s hallways outside the locker room.

Still, we shouldn’t write off Sanders issues in understanding game management onto his players’s discipline issues which again comes back to Sanders and staff. The lasting image of this year’s Buffs may be Shedeur flashing his watch, an ironic juxtaposition to the clocks who have so often been his father’s enemy and his team’s downfall.

“It’s not for lack of effort, it’s not for a lack of coaching with the staff or the support staff, the trainers and strength and conditioning and everybody around they’re doing a phenomenal job. We just can’t get over that hump. Another game, right there,” Sanders said after the loss. “I really hate it for our fan base because they deserve so much better and we’re going to give them better-we’re gonna give them better, but we’re close. We’re really close and I hope they can see it I hope you can see it I hope the country can see that we have no quit in us.”

The Buffs could probably get over that hump if the staff made the improvements the players on the field have. It was the third time in four games CU has been outscored in the second half and the fourth time in Pac-12 play Sanders clock or game management has brought serious questions. Whether it was running the ball down late against USC in a slow-moving drive, no timeouts called in the collapse against Stanford, handing Oregon State free points to end the first half last week, or this week’s many close calls—Sanders in-game coaching needs watching. While he will tell you it’s clear what the Buffaloes need to add going into next season, eluding to seven to ten standout players and particular improvements on the offensive line, another thing is for certain—Colorado needs more from their head coach if they are to make the year two leap Sanders plans on.

Sanders may be happy with the progress he’s made, and the attitude that we, the world, expect Colorado to actually compete. That is a big step. But he will also tell you the Buffs are underachieving to his standard and if he met his own, Colorado might be bowl-eligible and a year ahead of schedule instead of resting on a hot September.

The Buffaloes will travel to Pullman on Friday and Salt Lake City after Thanksgiving to finish their 2023 campaign, they’ll need two upset road wins to become postseason-eligible for the second time in a full season since 2007.

So as Colorado finishes the year out it’s worth asking this; Deion has raised the bar, but what’s the ceiling here? Talent can only overcome so many miscues.