Deion Sanders Takes Blame For Colorado Buffaloes' Jarring Struggles

Amid his most challenging stretch as the Colorado Buffaloes' head coach, Deion Sanders has made clear that he and his staff deserve the blame — not players — for the team's post-bye week struggles.

Colorado (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) went toe-to-toe with the likes of Georgia Tech, BYU and Iowa State but has since been blown out by Utah and Arizona in consecutive weeks. Why the sudden, intense downfall? During his appearance on the "Colorado Football Coaches Show," Sanders was asked by host Mark Johnson to pinpoint the reasons behind the Buffs' struggles.

"It's us (coaches), man," Sanders said. "It's the same kids, but the only thing that changes week-to-week is schemes. That's us. So that's why I put it on us. We got to take responsibility because it's the same kids out there. Unfortunately, we've sustained a tremendous amount of injuries, but you can't blame that because everybody's dealing with that. But that's on us."

Deion Sanders Continues To Tweak Buffs

Deion Sanders Reveals Reason Why Colorado Buffaloes Fallen Tough Times Coaching Staff Pat Shurmur Brett Bartolone Football CU — Nov 1, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders on the sidelines in the second quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

From ongoing tweaks to practice to a reported change in offensive play-calling duties, "Coach Prime" has made behind-the-scenes adjustments over the past few weeks in hopes of correcting Colorado's woes. Still, Saturday's game against the West Virginia Mountaineers will offer another valuable opportunity for those changes to translate into results.

"We've got to be the same type of coaches that put the game plan together against Iowa State, against some of those others that you went toe-to-toe, neck-to-neck with, and you may have come up short or sometimes you won," Sanders said. "But that's on us. We've got to do a better job of that."

USA Today Sports reported earlier this week that tight ends coach Brett Bartolone overtook play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for this past weekend's 52-17 loss to Arizona. If Bartolone maintains his new role, he'll play an important part in guiding freshman quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis through his first career start on Saturday against West Virginia.

"Preparation To The Fullest"

"Coach Prime" shared another intriguing quote during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, calling on his entire program to improve its game preparation.

"It has to be preparation to the fullest, including me," Sanders said. "It has to be intellect and understanding what's going to happen, what should be happening and what you see. The correct meeting times, the messages dispersed inside the meeting rooms, attention to details in practice, attention to details in everything we do."

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Winning in Morgantown this weekend won't be easy, but "Coach Prime" believes his players haven't lost their drive to win. The Buffs are still technically alive in the race for bowl eligibility, and Lewis' first career start should give the offense some needed life.

Kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium is set for 10 a.m. MT on TNT (simulcast on HBO Max)