The Alamo Bowl revenge game turned disastrous for Deion Sanders‘s Buffs, and they missed their best chance to knock off a ranked opponent. Colorado hasn’t won a single game against a nationally ranked team since defeating TCU in the 2023 season opener. Despite having a lot of hype around winning it on their home ground, the Buffs went flat. One glaring issue was Kaidon Salter’s costly interception, which gave them a massive setback. Salter has already offered his explanation for the mistake, but the damage was done.

Kaidon Salter’s journey this season was not that straight after starting against Georgia Tech, where he went 17 for 28 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. But in Week 2 against Delaware, Deion Sanders opted for a 3-quarterback move in the game. Salter, along with Julian Lewis and Ryan Staub, all saw time on the field. Then came the turning point of Salter’s career when he was benched in their game against Houston, and Staub started as QB1.

But after a shaky performance of completing 16 of 35 passes for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, Deion Sanders moved back to his Liberty State transfer QB, and that decision did wonders for them against Wyoming, as he went 18 of 28 passes for 304 yards and 3 TDs and also rushed 11 times for 86 yards with a late-game score. Now, even though Salter got his status intact as QB1, the shadow of the past still lingers over him, as after messing up big time against BYU, he said, “Having to sit a game kind of messed up my head a lil bit.”

Finding consistency has been a tough call for Kaidon Salter all this while, and that was pretty evident in his gameplay against BYU. With less than a minute left in the game, the Buffs needed 5 yards, and Salter rolled right and threw a pass that went straight into BYU’s Isaiah Glasker’s hands. That turnover ended the game for them. With the clock working against them, the Buffs had no way to stop the bleeding or buy enough time to get the ball back for one last chance. So, the rookie mistakes were glaring, and that’s how a 14-0 game turned into a major disappointment.

But it’s not like Kaidon Salter wasn’t impactful in the game. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 119 yards with a touchdown and a late interception. On top of that, he even showed his dual-game ability by adding 49 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown, and Colorado rushed for just 172 yards. So, his dominance was clear, and key moments like his 19-yard touchdown pass to WR Dre’Lon Miller, which gave a 21-17 lead to the Buffs in the third quarter, prove it.

Yet Deion Sanders is nothing but disappointed with his team.

Deion Sanders gets real about BYU loss

Colorado lost a golden opportunity to make an impact this season, but messed it up badly after giving BYU a chance to bounce back from a 14-0 lead. And this perfectly aligns with their 2023 loss against Stanford after taking a 29-0 halftime lead against them. Now, with offensive inconsistencies, even defense was a major issue in the game. BYU was able to close two big plays in the game.

The first one was the 32-yard touchdown pass by WR Cody Hagen, and then the late interception drive by BYU that sealed the deal for them. That left Deion Sanders nothing but disappointed in his team, as he made it pretty clear after the game, saying, “We just aren’t doing our jobs…We gotta do a better job preparing our young men.” Like a true leader, Sanders took it all on himself and made sure his team didn’t face the scrutiny again.

But the gap was glaring as Bear Bachmeier finished the game, completing 19 of 27 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and even adding 98 yards on attempts. And then comes the worst part: Colorado gave up 208 rushing yards against them. This leaves Deion Sanders with a 14-15 record. Sure, there’s no firing urge yet, but if they don’t put up a strong game, things might turn ugly for Sanders real soon.