Deion Sanders vows big Buffs issue fixed after volatile Week 1

Deion Sanders has again chosen to roll into this Colorado Buffaloes season without a special teams coordinator and that phase of the game was volatile for the black and gold.

Yes, the Buffs won the game Week 1 on a buzzer-beating kick block to topple Georgia Tech 14-13. But, there were issues in that phase from the opening kickoff through the fourth quarter. Ultimately they were saved by JuJu Lewis’ awesome last-minute drive and Boo Carter’s clutch hand.

Colorado actually had a chance to score earlier the fourth quarter, when they lined up for a field goal to tie the game at 10 — but an unblocked defender swatted the kick. Including this error and the return for a score that came on the ensuing kickoff to Colorado’s first touchdown the Buffaloes lost 10 points on just these mistakes. There were other issues as well. In the game, CU shanked a punt and had poor field position on another kick they should’ve downed.

“Special teams need to be special. I don’t know why we call them special teams if they’re not special,” Sanders said on Tuesday.

Coach Prime, who also went without a special teams coordinator earlier in his tenure in Boulder, said the problems should be fixed ahead of Week 2.

“I’m not concerned about those issues,” he said. “The reason: because that’s an easy fix with personnel. Some things are schematic. That wasn’t schematic. That was personnel. We fixed it with personnel already. Hopefully, you see the results this weekend.”

One of the personnel questions is who kicks. Daniel Gerlach missed the game’s lone field goal attempt for Colorado but his two extra points were good. He also handled the final kickoff while Aidan Birr handled the one that ended in a touchdown.

“Everything is day by day when it comes to kicking off. That [touchdown return] wasn’t his fault,” Sanders aid. “You know, he kicked the ball where he needed the kick. I think it was six yards deep in the darn end zone. The guy brought it out. We got to be on that game. That wasn’t his fault, but he’s still gonna kick field goals. I’ve got to see this stuff in practice under pressure. We apply pressure in practice, and I got to see it.”

Sanders said it’s still something the Buffs are working on.

“And some guys are better from this hash and that hash,” he shared. “It depends on where you are on the field. I’ve got to make that call. I’ve got to make the proper call. But that comes from what I’ve seen in practice, not games.”

A much cleaner game from Colorado in the special teams phase won’t be big against the big underdog Weber State but being “special,” as Prime said, as a unit, come conference play could be a key.

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