Deion Sanders: Colorado players got ‘intoxicated’ by success

Deion Sanders and Colorado were rolling right along with a four-game winning streak but it came to a screeching halt against Kansas Saturday.

In the 37-21 loss, Colorado really didn’t get going. The offense woke up before halftime, but the final 30 minutes featured the same old story.

Basically Sanders saw his team get stuck in the mud and fall to 8-3 (6-2).

“We started smelling ourselves a little bit,” Sanders said. “That’s what I just told our team. We got intoxicated with the success. We got intoxicated with the multitude of articles and the assumption that we’re this and the assumption that we’re that. And we did not play CU football. Therefore, we got our butts kicked.”

All Colorado had to do was beat Kansas and Oklahoma State next week. Then, Sanders and the Buffaloes are playing for a Big 12 Championship.

Now, Colorado needs to win and needs two of Iowa State, BYU and Arizona State to lose next week in order to play for the conference crown.

“When you’re in control of your own destiny, it’s a phenomenal thing,” Sanders said. “I don’t just think about football. I think about life. So the message to these young men is, if God was to work to grant you every darn thing you needed in life, all the ability, the thought process, the connections, the visuals, and you don’t do nothing with it. That’s on you, and that’s what we are. We controlled our own destiny, and we fumbled it.”

As far as why Colorado hit a lull and lost for the first time October 13th, it was the same message from Sanders.

“They just wanted it more,” Sanders said. “We’re smelling ourselves. They wanted it more, and that’s on me. I can’t let a team that I coach start feeling themselves. Can’t do that.”

The players were aware of what went down, so there was no finger pointing.

“We all genuinely messed up,” Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders said.

The QB threw for 388 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, but was sacked six times and he ended up with -50 rushing yards. Travis Hunter was limited to three catches for 26 yards on offense and just two tackles on defense.

Deion Sanders and Colorado are back in action on Black Friday at home against Oklahoma State at 12:00 p.m. ET.