Arizona State Coach Kenny Dillingham Makes Feelings Clear on Deion Sanders

Kenny Dillingham revisited Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes program before Saturday's rematch, bringing comments from last season into the conversation.

Oct 31, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham looks on against the Brigham Young Cougars during the second half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arizona State Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham has a habit of complimenting Deion Sanders during game week. Last November, he praised the Colorado Buffaloes coach for how far the program had come, and then his Sun Devils went to Folsom Field and won 42-17.

Dillingham went back to that theme during his Monday press conference, five days before Colorado visits Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. He started with Colorado’s results, then worked his way to Sanders himself.

Oct 17, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders on the field during the first quarter against the Utah Utes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Like I said, they’ve basically had the lead in almost every game that they’ve played,” Dillingham said. “And they’re playing as competitive football as any team in our league right now. So I think he’s done a really good job.”

A little gamesmanship comes with the territory when a 4-4 team fresh off a 27-20 loss at BYU talks up a 3-5 opponent. Even so, most of what Dillingham said holds up once you check the box scores.

Kenny Dillingham has the numbers on Colorado’s leads

Colorado has held a lead at some point in seven of its eight games this season. The 41-7 loss at Northwestern is the only game in which the Buffaloes never went in front.

The trouble has come after the lead. Colorado led Texas Tech 7-6 in the third quarter and Oklahoma State 24-23 at halftime, then lost those games by 22 and 33 points.

Calling the Buffaloes as competitive as anybody in the league is generous for a team sitting at 1-4 in Big 12 play. Finishing games is the part Sanders still has to fix.

Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Caleb Hawkins (24) runs pas Colorado Buffaloes defensive lineman Santana Hopper (97) during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Colorado Buffaloes at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Oklahoma State won 57-24. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Deion Sanders’ roster earns an NFL compliment

Dillingham saved his strongest words for the program Sanders has built, and he acknowledged the noise that follows the Colorado coach wherever he goes.

“And I know there’s always going to be, it doesn’t matter who you are, there’s going to be critics. There’s probably going to be more when you’re Coach Prime, right? People are always out for you,” Dillingham said. “But he’s done an unbelievable job making it a destination place.”

“You know, they’ve got multiple NFL guys on this defense, multiple NFL guys on this offense, especially up front, wide receiver," he added. "So this is a good football team. He’s put together a good roster.”

Dillingham didn’t name names, but a coach preparing to face that front and those receivers on Saturday has studied them closely, so his read sounds more like a scouting note than a pleasantry.

Kenny Dillingham grades Deion Sanders on the same curve

Oct 31, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts in the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dillingham measured Sanders the same way a year ago, when he pointed out that Colorado had won 300 percent more games than it did the season before Sanders arrived.

Colorado went 1-11 in 2022, the year before Sanders coached his first game in Boulder. The Buffaloes have won 19 games since, including nine in 2024.

“And I think they’re in a better place today than they were, than where they were when he took over,” Dillingham said. “And I think that’s the measurement of a head coach is, you know, where are you today as opposed to when you got it? And I think he has taken that program to a different level than when he took it over.”

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