The Real Reason Colorado Buffaloes Refuse To Quit

For the second time in coach Deion Sanders' three-year tenure, the Colorado Buffaloes will fall short of the needed six wins to qualify for a postseason bowl game.

Colorado (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) accepted its fate this past weekend at West Virginia and will now shift its attention to the Arizona State Sun Devils and later the Kansas State Wildcats to close the year. While the Buffs don't have anything tangible to play for, another win would give the program some momentum heading into another crucial offseason.

Wide receiver Omarion Miller, offensive lineman Yahya Attia and safety Tawfiq Byard all spoke on what's motivating the Buffs heading into their final two games:

Omarion Miller

Coming off the best two-game stretch of his college career, Miller said the Buffs are still pushing forward despite lost bowl game hopes.

"We're playing for pride," said Miller, who totaled 11 catches for 222 receiving yards and three touchdowns in losses to Arizona and West Virginia. "Win, lose or draw, no matter what, we still fighting. In our wide receiver room, we're not gonna quit."

Miller also shared his belief that the future remains bright under "Coach Prime." Still, the Buffs must maximize January's transfer portal window if they want to bounce back next season.

"We're playing for Coach Prime, so the minute that you do something bad, everybody's going to point it out, everybody's gonna see that. It's the same as if you do something good, the whole world knows," Miller said. "So why wouldn't you want to stay here? I feel like our team, they know that. Even with the season going like this, I feel like there's something good around the corner. I've seen it. I think our team sees that too."

Yahya Attia

Although the Buffs are locked into a losing season, Yahya Attia sees a major difference between 3-9 and 5-7.

"We still believe, I still believe," Attia said. "I feel like 5-7 is much better than 4-8 or 3-9, so I'm just approaching it like I've been doing, and the rest of the team is gonna do the same stuff.

"When I'm on the floor, I don't want nobody to kick on me. I want to stand up. We don't have a good record, but it's just how we react now. We already know we ain't gonna make it to no bowl game. Do we want to finish strong, or do we just want to hang around?"

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Tawfiq Byard

Similar to Miller, Byard noted that pride will drive the Buffs against Arizona State and Kansas State.

"We're playing for pride now," Byard said Saturday, per BuffsTV. "We got to go. We got to play, whatever the score may be, whatever the record may be, however the season's gone, you got to be a man at this point. How much are you going to take before you fight back? And that's where we're at as a team."