Deion Sanders on facing boos in road environment: ‘It turns us on’

Deion Sanders had an interesting response when asked about the road environments the Colorado Buffaloes have been facing over the last couple of weeks during his press conference on Tuesday.

The Buffaloes head coach explained why his team actually likes hearing the crowd boo them, and Colorado’s recent play backs up the assertion, but the way he described the feeling may have some screaming pause at their computer screens.

“We like to be booed, naysayed and hated. That turns us on. It turns us on. It’s kind of sexy, matter of fact,” Sanders told the media. That’s how I felt when I played. I loved to be on the road and get booed and naysayed and all of that. I think we like being the underdogs. We like being those types of people.

“Not that — we don’t look at the betting line or whatever, underdogs meaning on the road, away from home. We like that, we like that, we really do.”

If that’s how Sanders and Colorado feel when they’re being booed, imagine what goes through their minds when they’re being cheered. Jokes aside, the Buffaloes won’t have to worry about any jeers in Week 9, as they’ll return home to face Cincinnati at 10:15 p.m. ET on Saturday after improving to 5-2 (3-1 Big 12) last weekend.

Deion Sanders has his team humming, and they’re one win away from becoming bowl-eligible. However, they have bigger goals on their mind, as their conference schedule continues to ramp up in 2024.

Deion Sanders shares big update on Travis Hunter’s health vs. Cincinnati

In other news, Deion Sanders shared a big update Tuesday when it came to the health of two-way star Travis Hunter and his status against Cincinnati.

In the win over Arizona Saturday, Hunter sat out the second half as a precaution. Colorado won 34-7 despite not having Hunter at full strength. In a pivotal Big 12 game against the Bearcats, Hunter’s presence would give the Buffaloes a boost. It seems like he’s due for a bigger role this weekend, according to Sanders.

“Travis is better than last week,” Sanders said. “(I) think he’ll have more productivity because he’s feeling much better than last week. You can just tell with his little giddy up and the way he goes about life. Little more pep in his step today. I think he did some conditioning today, for sure, to make sure he’s on point with his conditioning because he never tires and we want to keep that what it is.

“I certainly think he will certainly contribute a lot more than he did a week ago because he’s healthier.”

Travis Hunter suffered the injury last week in a 31-28 loss to Kansas State and did not return after leaving the game toward the end of the first half. Deion Sanders could tell that he wasn’t quite himself in the first half, as he recorded only two catches for 17 yards, but the two-way star should be expected to play next week, as it doesn’t seem the injury is too serious. 

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.