As the Arizona Wildcats will be facing off against Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes on November 1, they must be carrying the old wounds of their 7-34 loss last season. While their game against Deion’s Colorado is still a long way from going, they will be facing off against the BYU Cougars. And what better time to stand by Kalani Sitake’s boys? 

That’s when, without naming Deion and co., the Wildcats head coach, Brent Brennan, took BYU’s side for the disrespect they received from Colorado. But what was the hoopla all about? Last week, on September 27, things went out of hand at Folsom Field. The Colorado stands were filled with ‘F-ck the Mormons’ chants. So, the hostility was directed towards Sitake’s boys. Now, it’s obvious that the Cougars might be scared to face off against the Wildcats, with the wounds of being disrespected still fresh. That’s when Brennan turned against Deion’s program and stood by BYU’s side. 

The Cougars insider Ben Criddle dropped a clip of the Wildcats’ head coach’s interview on X on October 8. “My challenge to our fan base and to everybody that loves the University of Arizona is to show up. Let’s sell out Arizona Stadium. Let’s make this thing the hostile environment we know it can be and make it really challenging for our opponents,” said Brennan. It was followed by another request, “I would also ask our fans like let’s be respectful in this thing. I think that’s one of those things that we’re better than that… Let’s make it incredibly hard on BYU. But let’s be respectful in the process.”

Was Deion and Colorado’s name mentioned even once? No. But it’s enough for the fans to realize who Brennan intended to. Not just the Cougars, even the Wildcats’ head coach felt bad about how Deion and co. treated BYU. The clock wound down to the final minutes, and that’s when the student section erupted with “(Expletive) BYU” and “(Expletive) the Mormons” chants. While BYU was used to such hostility, hardly did they expect Deion and his boys to be held accountable for such behavior.

On October 6, the Big 12 announced it had issued a $50,000 fine and public reprimand against the University of Colorado for the discriminatory chants. That’s how Deion’s program landed in deep soup. “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference. While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during Saturday’s game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior,” read Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark’s statement. While Colorado faces heat from the Big 12, here came more setbacks for him, both professional and personal.

Deion Sanders gets hit by back-to-back troubles

Deion must be looking to find his footing after the two back-to-back losses, one against TCU and the other against BYU. They were planning to go full throttle while facing off against the Iowa State Cyclones. But here came a grounding alert. Days before the game, Adam Munsterteiger dropped a screenshot of the injury report on October 8. Combining both teams, 38 players are on the list.

Out of which, 21 players belong to Deion’s Colorado. Apparently, the Buffs’ situation looked better than the TCU game when 27 Buffs were on the list. Yet then, Deion will be running without his key weapons, like offensive lineman Tyler Brown, wide receiver Hykeem Williams. The “out” list also features CB RJ Johnson, TE Sav’ell Smalls, WR Carson Westbrook, and OL Philip Houston, among others. 

Deion and co. are yet to receive a final verdict on players on the questionable list, namely defensive tackle duo Amari McNeill and Anquin Barnes Jr., along with Reginald Hughes. While Coach Prime has too many things on his plate with all the injury woes, here came another blow for the Buffs’ head coach.

He was spotted wearing one shoe during the face-off against TCU. Fans got worked up, wondering whether Deion’s blood clot issues had made a comeback or not. And their fear came out to be true. He underwent a four-hour-long aspiration thrombectomy to treat the clots in the popliteal and tibial arteries. But looks like Deion is not much worried about his recovery and health. He is on a mission and made it back to the gridiron just 16 hours after getting operated on. What’s the urgency?

The Buffs’ head coach said, “I’m more concerned about making sure we get the W for these wonderful hometown fans.” Now, without so many key weapons, will it be possible for Deion Sanders to keep his promise?