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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is clearly still unhappy with how his team’s played over the last few weeks. Over the last four games, the Buffs are 1-3, most recently letting a 29-0 halftime lead slip away against a struggling Stanford team.
He’s hoping to hit the reset button after a bye week as his squad gets ready for a trip to Los Angeles. Sanders had one message for his team ahead of Colorado’s meeting with No. 23 UCLA.
Accountability.
Coach Prime preached this message throughout the practice week, encouraging his players to hold teammates responsible for their on-field errors.
Sanders appears to be searching for leadership, hoping that his team doesn’t back down after the first signs of adversity.
“We started this journey out on belief, and I wanna know, do you still believe?” the head coach asked his team. “I can recall… seeing how you wanted it the first time we walked out this season. I want to make certain that the same men are in this room. The same coaching staff is in this room.”
Colorado shocked the world in that Week 1 matchup, taking down national runner-up TCU as a 21-point underdog. They then proceeded to rip off back-to-back wins over Nebraska and Colorado State to move to 3-0.
The Buffs have since hit a roadblock, though, which started with a reality-shaking loss to Oregon. Defeats to USC and Stanford have followed.
Now, at 4-3, they’ll look to reverse the current course and get back on track.
Deion Sanders delivers fiery speech to Colorado players ahead of UCLA trip.
Coach Prime’s team has already exceeded preseason expectations, but that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied. In fact, he likely believes they should be sitting at 5-2, potentially ranked in the Top 25.
The second half collapse against the Cardinal was frustrating, but Sanders doesn’t want it to begin a downward spiral. He believes that will come down to the players, though.
Do they still want it or are they happy with where things currently stand?
He delivered a fiery speech in pregame preparations, and that attitude carried over into practice.
“I’ve been on championship teams. Championship teams don’t let bulls— slide… The stuff y’all are letting slide, ain’t going to make y’all a champion. Y’all keep letting it slide, you’re never going to win. Hold each other accountable!”
At 1-3 in PAC 12 play, conference championship hopes are likely dashed. That doesn’t mean the team can’t finish the year strong and continue to build for the future.
That will start this weekend when Colorado travels to UCLA. We’ll see if the Buffs take Sanders’ message seriously.