Deion Sanders finally had some breathing room after Colorado’s third win, but one loss to Arizona State took it away. Now Coach Prime is back under scrutiny, and the loudest question is about the two timeouts he never used. The decisions are piling up, and so is the pressure on a campaign that was supposed to look different.
“No, it’s almost like I don’t want to stop the clock and give them an opportunity,” Sanders said during the post-game conference on November 7. “We don’t want to allow the opposing team to score. You’ve got to think about the other side, too. That’s a different thought process.”
After forcing an Arizona State punt with roughly 45 seconds left and two timeouts available, the Buffaloes had a chance to push for points before halftime. Instead, Sanders chose not to use the timeouts aggressively, allowing the clock to run down and leaving Colorado with little opportunity to mount a scoring drive.
“It’s almost like, at the end of the game as well, you’re thinking about scoring, not kicking a darn field,” Sanders added. “The natural mind would say, “Okay, right now let’s play football. We two kick the field goal; you two touchdowns down. Instead of What if we score right here? What do we, you know, we may not get back down here again in this situation? “So, you’ve got to go with your gut and your instinct. Sometimes it’s just not; you can’t go by what the board said or what the clip says.”
After a 20-10 loss to Arizona State in Week 10, questionable coaching decisions during the game have landed Coach Prime under serious scrutiny. Colorado didn’t just lose because Arizona State played better, but it was the play-calling decisions that hurt the team’s chances of winning. One of those decisions came in the second quarter.
Colorado got possession of the ball with just 52 seconds remaining before halftime. They were trailing by 17 points, and the team had two timeouts available. Instead of using those timeouts to stop the clock, Sanders allowed the clock to continue running. Colorado ran the ball twice, which just wasted more time. By not using either timeout, Sanders potentially wasted a valuable scoring opportunity.
Buffaloes are making too many mistakes, struggling to execute plays, and failing to show the discipline needed to win games. Sanders hasn’t been able to put up a performance, which screams that they came to win. That is also the reason why Colorado might make a move to let him go, but that won’t be cheap.
As soon as the game started, ASU scored on its very first offensive opportunity and remained ahead on the scoreboard for the entire game. They dominated the Buffs, and the 10 points they were able to put on the board were due to penalties and poor tackling. Elliot Arnold kicked a field goal just before the third quarter ended and helped get 3 points on the board. Isaac Wilson later connected with Joseph Williams for a touchdown after a rough penalty from the ASU defenders.
These mistakes allowed Colorado to make progress and reduce the deficit, but it still wasn’t enough for a comeback. Colorado had the ball on second down on a 9-yard run, which ended in a sack. Then they needed to convert a fourth-and-15 on their final drive, but they failed. The Buffs are now at a disappointing 3-6 record, with CFP hopes crushed for this season as well.