Colorado lost its fifth straight game on Friday night, this time a 56–14 blowout at Washington State, dropping the Buffaloes to 4–7 on the year. That means that in Deion Sanders’s first season, Colorado cannot become bowl eligible despite starting the season 3–0.
Sanders isn’t used to this much losing, as he went 23–3 in two seasons at Jackson State following a Hall of Fame NFL career. After the loss to Washington State, Sanders admitted how difficult this losing streak has been for him.
“This is the toughest stretch of probably my life,” he told reporters.
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The Buffaloes endured a particularly tough first half, getting outscored 42–7 before intermission. But Sanders credited his team for listening to him at halftime and continuing to play hard despite the large deficit.
“I challenged them to go out there and stand up for themselves, for their family, for the name on the front and the name on the back,” Sanders said. “I challenged them to stand up for that, and they responded. They didn’t lay down. They went out there and fought, so I’m proud of them. I really am.”
Colorado is now 1–7 in conference play, and the 42-point loss to Washington State is easily the worst of the season for the Buffaloes. Sanders believes the biggest issue with the team is a lack of identity this far into the season.
“It’s not who we are. We are still trying to figure out our identity, figure out who we are,” Sanders said. “After all these weeks, I still don’t know.”
Colorado wraps up its season at No. 22 Utah (7–3, 4–3 Pac-12) next Saturday.
