EUGENE, Ore. – He left the field in a hurry.
Surrounded by his security team and cameramen, Deion Sanders disappeared into the dark tunnel.
This time there will be no celebration. No high fives. No brother hugs. No smiling or waving.
No receipts either.
Do you believe? No such questions.
We come? Think again.
About 20 minutes after the end of the, let’s call it, Autzen Stadium Massacre – Oregon 42, Colorado 6 – Prime Time itself summed up the sordid affair well.
“A good old-fashioned butt-kicking,” he said, leaning back in his chair, more than three dozen reporters in front of him.
It was a snoozer from the start, a bloodbath of a football game that was more reminiscent of an FBS vs. FCS matchup than an intra-conference collision of 3-0 football programs. That was bad, as bad as you’ve ever seen in a Top 25 affair.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders leaves the field after his team’s 42-6 loss to Oregon. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Let the numbers do the talking. Colorado’s offense didn’t break the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter, didn’t complete a play of more than 12 yards until 16 minutes to play and allowed seven sacks. The Ducks scored touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions, averaged a whopping 7.2 yards per snap and pulled many of their starters with a full quarter to play.
It was bad enough to produce a remarkable tally: At halftime, Colorado had 23 yards; Oregon had 22 first downs.
That felt personal to me – for the other person.
In a pregame speech that aired on ABC, Oregon coach Dan Lanning fired up his team by taking aim at the other coach’s glitz and glamor: “Today we’re talking with our pads. The Cinderella story is over. You fight for clicks, we fight for victories. There is a difference. This game is not played in Hollywood. It’s played on the grass.”
Guess who already found out about this when he arrived at his post-game press conference?
“I got messages [about it]said Sanders.
He shrugged. Lanning can be in charge because he won. God bless him, Sanders said. He added that he was a great coach.
And then, in typical Prime fashion, wearing dark sunglasses, Sanders delivered a message to all of college football: “You better get me now.” This is the worst thing that will happen to us.”
“I’m not saying anything just to say it, contrary to what someone said. I’m keeping the receipts… This is the worst thing we’re getting hit with… They can take their shots, they won.” “
Deion Sanders responds to Dan Lanning’s “do it for clicks” comments ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/irD80X3FDF
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 24, 2023
They were bad. In 34 games as a college head coach, Sanders has never lost like that. It was the worst loss by a Sanders-coached team since 2016, when he led a Dallas-area high school, Triple A Academy, to a 42-0 loss in the playoffs.
Lanning heated things up even more, seemingly determined to embarrass the Buffaloes and their towering coach. He attempted two 2-point conversions in the first half, faked a punt (successfully) and made two fourth-down attempts in the third quarter while leading by at least 35 points.
At halftime, with Oregon leading 35-0, Lanning quipped to an ESPN television reporter, “I hope everyone who was watching [Colorado] Every week is still watching.”
Even Puddles, Oregon’s costumed mascot, won over Coach Prime. He entered the stadium wearing a white cowboy hat and gold sunglasses.
“That’s fine,” Sanders said afterwards. He asked for it.
“Teams try to beat me,” he said. “They’re not trying to beat our team. That’s it really. It is what it is. I signed up for this.”
Oh, isn’t it? The smack talk. The cameras. The interviews. The tweets. The boldest thing. The bold one.
Sanders defended his and his team’s approach, saying they were not arrogant. They’re just confident.
Give Sanders credit. He took the tough questions and answered them with beefy honesty. As a Colorado official began to end the press conference, Sanders waved away to answer more questions: “I can’t go anywhere.”
He described his team playing like “hot trash,” talked about evaluating coaches, reevaluating every position and lamented the blocking, or lack thereof, for his quarterback and son, Shedeur Sanders. One of the most productive players in the country, Shedeur threw for 159 yards – more than 100 of them while the game was out of control.
Oregon didn’t do anything “magical,” Shedeur said. There were no real surprises. This wasn’t a planned thing. It’s not a talent thing either, said Deion.
So what happened?
“They got to our quarterback,” the coach said. “If you get to our quarterback, that’s it.”
That’s because Colorado has difficulty running the football. It was a specter of a three-win start to the year that ended in front of an impressive 59,889 spectators at Autzen Stadium.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders talks with his son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the first half of the loss to Oregon. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
The Buffs appeared confused without their two-way star Travis Hunter, who was out at least two more weeks while he recovers from a ruptured liver. Shedeur brushed off the impact of Hunter’s absence. That wasn’t the reason they lost, he said.
Deion thinks differently.
“He’s the best soccer player in the country,” Deion said. “It’s like writing an article and the pen is missing.”
Maybe Colorado needed this humiliation? No, said the coach. “That’s like saying you need a car crash,” he said. “It’s like saying you need this. So stupid.”
But maybe it’s time to silence the conversation? Maybe it’s time to turn off the cameras and close the documentary that follows his every move?
No chance. One loss doesn’t change a man, and perhaps it doesn’t have to. In fact, the stars may be on display more than ever next Saturday in Boulder.
The Buffaloes host a team with more glitz and glamor than themselves: the University of Southern California Trojans.
There’s no time for a pity party, Sanders said. No time to sulk. No time to cry. “Get your butts up,” he said to the crew, “and let’s go.”
And then he quickly left the trailer that served as the press conference venue, out into the cool Oregon air, out to his many admirers – even Ducks fans who were scrambling to catch a glimpse of his every move.
“Fine! First class!” They shouted at him, a camera crew in tow and a butt-kicking man behind him.