Deion Sanders says the moment was ‘too big’ for some Buffs players after 24-21 loss to BYU

BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Buffaloes still haven’t beat a ranked opponent since they beat TCU in the first game of the Coach Prime era. The winless streak extended to eight on Saturday night at Folsom Field as the No. 25 BYU Cougars took down the Buffs 24-21.

After the loss, Deion Sanders said that the burden is on everyone to be better, as the Buffs let a much-needed victory slip through their fingers.

“We have to be better as a staff, as a team and I have to do better,” he said.

Things started off great for the Buffs, as they took over five minutes off the clock on the opening drive en route to an 11 play, 75 yard touchdown drive. The Cougars turned the ball over on downs on their first drive, and after a few direct snaps to Drelon Miller as the wildcat quarterback, the lead was 14-0, and Folsom Field was rocking.

DRELON MILLER'S FIRST CAREER RUSHING TOUCHDOWN! pic.twitter.com/nrFRM9Ds48

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 28, 2025

After that, the offense faded back to the slow, predictable scheme that plagued the Buffs in their other losses this season. They didn’t score their next points, which ended up being the only other time they scored on the night, until there was under three minutes left in the third quarter. Three of the four drive in between were punts, and the fourth was a drive that the Buffs took into halftime.

On the other side, the Cougars made just enough plays to take the lead in the fourth quarter with a pair of short passes from Bear Bachmier in the red zone and a 32-yard scamper by Cody Hagen on a reverse that fooled the entire Buffs defense. Twenty-four points was all they needed, as Colorado failed to score on their final three drives.

Cody Hagen said come with me cameraman – we’re going to the end zone. 💨#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/3KHGGaxKjX

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 28, 2025

Sanders was very frustrated with the lack of production at certain moments, and made a bold statement about some of his players.

“Sometimes it felt like the moment was just too big for some of our athletes.”

Prime didn’t specify exactly who he was referring to, but he was not happy when asked after the game about a variety of different groups. He stressed that the team needs more consistency on both sides of the ball, especially from the cornerback room. The Buffs went to Teon Parks as the second corner on the outside across from D.J. McKinney after they gave Makari Vickers the spotlight for a few games. He kept it simple when saying what he needs from those guys.

“They’ve got to play better. All of them [have] got to play better. We’ve got to do a better job of preparing them and coaching them,” he said.

Parks’ five tackles were tied for the third most on the team. When a cornerback has a lot of tackles, that’s not usually the best sign, as that means he’s getting attacked by the opponent, which was the case tonight. Prime clearly thought that the moment was too big for him, and is might’ve been too big for quarterback Kaidon Salter, who forced a ball on the final drive of the game which ended up being intercepted.

It was clear that Sanders was frustrated with where his team is at. With three challenging games up next on the schedule, his Buffs need to figure it out fast if they want to avoid dropping to a 2-6 record.

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