Deion Sanders didn’t sugarcoat his feelings. Not for a second.
He sat at the podium shaking his head after Colorado’s 53–7 loss to Utah, a game that exposed every weakness his team had tried to patch over during a long, uneven season.
“This is bad. It’s probably the worst beating I’ve ever had except for when my momma whooped me as a kid,” Sanders said. “422 yards rushing, you’re not winning… Total offense 140 yards, you’re not winning. [Allowing] 587 yards of total offense, you’re not winning with that. Special teams gave up a fake punt as well… All three phases, we got our butts kicked.”
The numbers told the same story. Utah ran for 422 yards on 51 carries, averaging 8.3 yards per rush. Colorado finished with 38 rushing yards on 38 attempts, just one yard per carry.
Senior quarterback Kaidon Salter went 9-for-22 for 37 yards with one interception. Backup Ryan Staub added 4-for-8 for 65 yards and scored Colorado’s only touchdown on a short keeper late in the fourth quarter.
Following the loss to Utah, Deion Sanders spoke about the setback faced by his @CUBuffsFootball offensive line. pic.twitter.com/lbjLrlEcGb
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2025
When asked what made it so difficult to stop Utah’s ground attack from the opening drive, Sanders didn’t reach for excuses. “We didn’t prepare our kids…the way we practiced, the way we prepared…there’s no way,” he said. “The physicalness that we exuded all week long, there’s no way. Consistency…only thing we were consistent was low [penalties].”
When a reporter asked about the gap between Colorado and an established program like Utah, Sanders paused before answering “That’s a great question,” he said. “Stability in certain areas. The thing about it is…those areas show up and they show glimpses of success sometimes…You’re just dumbfounded… wow… there’s no way. No way.”
He turned the focus inward. “That starts with me. It starts with the coach,” Sanders said. “Right now, we ain’t thinking about a bowl… let’s figure out why this happened and make sure the precaution that it don’t happen again. But let’s identify why. Let’s identify why first. That’s what I want to know. Why? What about this? Who is that? What about that? Why? Why? You know, why? I need to know all these why’s.”
Asked what he told his players in the locker room, Sanders didn’t soften it. “I don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t pleasant,” he said. “Most likely to stand up and step up…you know, all this look good and all this stuff, it don’t work unless you go [and play well]. We [are seeing] that kind of generation right now. They want to look good, they want to be paid…play [needs to] constitute that, and we got to figure this out, like now.”
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