CU Buffs trounced again, more trouble brewing for Deion Sanders in Boulder

Deion Sanders and the CU Buffs were embarrassed by the Arizona Wildcats in Boulder on Saturday night, their second blowout loss in as many weeks

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Nov 1, 2025, 8:59 PM Updated: 9:58 pm

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(Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

BOULDER, Colo. — After Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes were embarrassed in Salt Lake City a week ago, it was hard to imagine that things could get worse in Boulder.

They did.

The Buffs welcomed the Arizona Wildcats to town for homecoming weekend on Saturday, looking to right the wrongs of the Utah game. However, they didn’t look like the hungry team looking to prove that a blowout loss was a one-off game, as they lost 52-17 in another uninspiring outing.

“It’s on me. Don’t attack the coordinators. Come at me. Don’t attack the players. Come at me. It has everything to do with me,” Sanders said postgame.

It took just under eight minutes of game time for the Buffs to go down 17-0 this time around. it took 12 minutes for that same feat to happen last week. On the bright side, the Buffs didn’t let their opponent into the end zone until the third play from scrimmage, an improvement from last week after Utah scored on the second play of the game.

By the time halftime rolled around in Boulder, the scoreboard read 38-7 in favor of the Wildcats, and Sanders’ Buffs were getting booed off the field heading into the locker room. The bleacher seats at Folsom were half empty, as a bunch of disappointed fans who spent a lot of money on tickets chose to hit the road early.

Folsom Field is really starting to empty out after Ralphie’s second run, and no one can blame the fans for leaving. Embarrassing showing for a second week in a row from Deion Sanders and the #CUBuffs pic.twitter.com/dM8DV9bQLO

— Trent Finnegan (@trent_finnegan2) November 2, 2025

There were only 48,223 fans in attendance to start the game, the lowest number of the Coach Prime era.

“I know what the situation is, I know what the problem is and I’ll fix it,” Sanders said.

QUARTERBACK WOES CONTINUE FOR DEION SANDERS AND THE BUFFS

Kaidon Salter, the quarterback who has been the pinnacle of inconsistency for the Buffs this season, didn’t even make it to halftime. He finished with 49 yards through the air with a touchdown and an interception in a very uninspiring performance. It’s likely that he’s played his last snap in Boulder.

Sanders and his coaching staff then turned to Ryan Staub to run the offense, something they’ve had to do too many times this year. The redshirt sophomore threw two passes, both of which were intercepted, and was subsequently benched.

Julian Lewis finally got his chance to play and threw a beautiful deep ball to Omarion Miller up the left side for a 59-yard touchdown. That was the only highlight of the night for Colorado, as fans got a taste of what they’ve been begging to see for weeks.

Lewis finished the game with 121 yards and a touchdown on 9-for-17 passing. By playing him in this game, he can’t play in all three of the remaining games of the season and also preserve his redshirt. Sanders was asked the importance of keeping his redshirt status preserved to potentially prolong his collegiate career.

“I don’t know his thought process, or his parents — I have no idea… I’m proud the kid got an opportunity.”

DEFENSE, PENALTY ISSUES HAVEN’T BEEN SOLVED

While the offense was looking lackadaisical for yet another outing, the defense wasn’t much better. Arizona finished the night with 417 yards of total offense, 204 on the ground and 213 through the air. After letting Utah tally 587 yards last week, one would’ve thought serious changes would’ve been made. They weren’t, and another poor outing ensued.

Chunk plays were another big issue for Colorado. Arizona had three massive plays on the night for gains of 57, 60 and 68 yards, along with multiple fumble and interception returns that set up the Wildcat offense in the red zone.

For the penalties, Colorado had 14 total penalties accepted for 110 total yards. There was a false start on a punt, and another on an extra point early on, there was a blatant roughing the passer that took a CU interception off the board, and there was an illegal man downfield called that wiped away a massive Sincere Brown touchdown. The latter two killed any sense of a comeback the Buffs were attempting to put together and seemed like early nails in the coffin.

“Horrible. No discipline,” Sanders said.

The Buffs need to win out to make a bowl game, a feat that seems to be very unlikely after the last two showings. While having Lewis make an appearance was a good sign, Saturday’s game raised a lot of questions. This program is heading in a bad direction, and there’s not a light at the end of the tunnel currently.