Deion Sanders opens up on what it meant to him to coach inside the Rose Bowl

Deion Sanders never stepped foot in the Rose Bowl as a player, so it was quite different as a coach when Colorado took on UCLA.

Sanders, whose main goal is to always win, fell short as the Bruins took down the Buffaloes 28-16, dropping Colorado to 4-4. It’s been a resurgent year for the program in Sanders’ first year, so there were bound to be lumps at some point.

Despite the loss, it meant something to him and his staff to coach inside a legendary venue.

“You gotta understand … they always say the granddaddy of them all and to see the kind of games that have been played here and not to be able to play in it as in my whole entire career, but to come back and coach in it,” Sanders said. 

“Coach Hart, Coach Mathis and Mr. Calhoun, who runs our operations, we (were) coaching youth football several years ago. And we in the darn Rose Bowl? And you want me to question how good my God is? Have you lost your mind? Like seven years ago, us, coach Hart was running the defense, coach Mathis was running the defense, I was coaching the offense, Calhoun was running operations. Same thing we were doing in youth when we took seven busloads of kids to the Hall of Fame. So, we always take a picture in these types of stadiums and we just think about, wow, like this is unbelievable.”

It is a special place for UCLA to host its home games inside the stadium. Then of course, when the actual Rose Bowl game comes around, College Football Playoff or not, there’s a true pageantry to the event.

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Deion Sanders appreciates Rose Bowl atmosphere

Sanders mentioned about soaking up all of the unbelievable moments he has while coaching. That included the Rose Bowl atmosphere, even in a regular season game.

“I don’t have to remind myself, it comes natural,” Sanders said. “It’s a blessing it truly is. So that’s why it’s hard to knock me off my horse because I always think about the goodness of God and how good he’s been.”

There’s been ups and downs for Sanders and Colorado during his first year. Players like his son Sheduer Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter have shined under the bright lights, albeit with some growing pains.

Hence why the team is 4-4 after a 3-0 start and the latest stretch included some close and unfortunate losses to USC and Stanford. That’s the difference between their current record and 6-2 with bowl eligibility. 

Are there two wins left in the last four? That’s to be determined.