Colorado still hasn’t found its footing in the Big 12, dropping games to Houston and BYU. Now while the Buffs have yet to topple a power-conference team, with wins only over Delaware and Wyoming, ESPN’s Football Power Index gives them just a 20.8 percent shot on the road at TCU. But under Deion Sanders, CU thrives on the impossible. Remember, in 2023, his Buffs entered Fort Worth as three-TD underdogs, but walked out with a stunning upset. Now, at this point in the season, sitting at 2-3, Colorado desperately needs a win. Because a win could reignite their season, but a loss might push even a bowl appearance out of reach. That’s why Deion Sanders is firing up his team with a strong locker room challenge.

On the September 3 episode of Well Off Media, in a pregame meeting, coach Sanders delivered a message addressing the Texas players on his team. “You got a lot of fellas going back to Texas… You’re going home. You’re going to the crib,” he said ahead of the TCU game. “Your passion, your energy, your attention to detail should be a little different this week.” Then, Sanders reminded the team they’d be playing in front of family, friends, and hometown fans. “You don’t want nobody to know what you’re not doing. You want them to see what you’re doing,” he added. So, for Sanders, every practice and every play needs to match the stakes. Because this isn’t just another game, it’s a chance to prove themselves in front of many of the players’ families and friends.

“Does it mean something to you? What does it mean?” he asked, referring to the challenge. One player answered, “Everything.” But Sanders pressed further. “What? What does everything mean? I don’t know what everything mean. What everything like, what else?” The player responded, “Well, for more family to come see you.” Then Sanders nodded and said, “Yeah. Which means you got a ball. You got a ball within the confines of the team.” So, the message was clear. Individual effort matters, but it only counts when it lifts the whole team.

“Not do it yourself. Ain’t none of y’all can do it yourself. Ain’t nobody do it like that,” he said. Simply put, success comes within the team, not alone. “Within the confines of the team, you got a ball,” continued Sanders. Every player has a role, and Sanders urged them to push the envelope and practice with precision. “You got to practice with a certain level of certainty and perfection that you know what’s going to be the result when you get out there on the field,” he added.  While the odds aren’t in their favor, when it comes to Sanders, an upset is never out of reach.

Prime Time is laser-focused on turning Colorado’s season around. On Friday, he shared his mindset after recent losses. “When you lose, you’re not happy by any means. But the way you lose improves your attitude,” he said. “Can you take some positives from the negative and apply it to your team? Yes.” Now, coming up just short against BYU gave the Colorado HC a lesson, but also a long to-do list. “We got to do A, B, C, D. We gotta fix that, we gotta fix that, we gotta fix that, we gotta do this,” he said. So, for Sanders, spotting the problems is only half the battle. Because the real work is in making the fixes and pushing the team forward. But while the Buffs prepare for their next game, a previous mistake by the home crowd against BYU came at a heavy cost.

Buffs fined for offensive chants

The Big 12 slapped the Buffs with a $50,000 fine after fans hurled offensive chants and expletives at BYU during Saturday’s 24-21 defeat. The incident drew swift condemnation from both conference and university officials. “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference,” said  Commissioner Brett Yormark. “The Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.” Following that, CU’s leaders echoed the sentiment.

AD Rick George and Chancellor Justin Schwartz stated, “The University of Colorado Boulder strongly condemns the use of expletives and religious slurs… Such behavior is deeply disappointing and does not reflect the values of respect, inclusion and integrity we expect of our campus community.” Then HC Deion Sanders apologized on behalf of the university and the athletic department.

“That’s not indicative of who we are. Our student body, our kids are phenomenal,” remarked Sanders. “BYU, we love you, we appreciate you and we support you.” Moreover, Sanders said the fans behind the chants were likely young and intoxicated. These incidents aren’t new, with similar chants occurring at other college games in the past. The University of Oregon apologized for such chants against BYU in 2022. The Trojan fans also came under the microscope in 2021 when they chanted offensive slogans about faith during a BYU football game. It is good to see swift reactions from everyone around to condemn such acts so that such incidences can be reduced over time.