Deion Sanders Calls Out Colorado Players, Ralphie Mascot ‘Finished Strong Unlike Us’

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders wasn’t fully satisfied with his team’s 37-20 win over Wyoming on Saturday.

A 47-yard touchdown pass from Kaidon Salter to Joseph Williams put the Buffs up 28-3 midway through the third quarter. The Cowboys battled back, though, and trimmed the deficit to 10 points with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter before Salter added some insurance points on a 35-yard run.

In his postgame press conference, Sanders referenced the debut of mascot Ralphie VII and used the buffalo as a measuring stick for his squad.

“I heard she was energetic. She started out well and finished strong, unlike us,” he told reporters (comments begin at the 1:40 mark). “I’m not happy with the finish. I’m happy with the results but I’m not happy with the finish. I told our young men, too much haha and hehe-ing on the sideline when we got the lead and hats off to the opposition. They did a wonderful job, Wyoming, of getting back in that game and playing their butts off with a no-quit attitude.

“Much love to their head coach, much love to that coaching staff. Nothing but the utmost respect. They came here and played their butts off and they did not give up. And I wish we could be a little more, have a little more killer instinct in us to really put teams away like we’re capable of doing.”

Sanders did praise Salter, saying the senior “played his butt off” in his return to the starting role.

The experienced signal-caller got demoted ahead of Colorado’s third game, a 36-20 loss to Houston. Coach Prime didn’t like what he saw from third-stringer Ryan Staub and handed the keys to the offense back to his original starter.

If Sanders was trying to send a message with the QB change, then Salter heard it loud and clear. He went 18-of-28 for 304 yards and three touchdowns.

The Buffs offense as a whole gained 497 yards, with Salter also finishing as the team’s leading rusher (86 yards).

Colorado took its foot off the gas a bit in the second half.

The Buffaloes left points on the board when running back Micah Welch fumbled in Wyoming territory, though the Cowboys’ next possession ended in a safety. Then Alejandro Mata missed a 34-yard field goal before Wyoming embarked on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown pass by Kaden Anderson.

Colorado hosts BYU on Sept. 27 as it pivots to its Big 12 slate. A road trip to TCU follows that before matchups with No. 12 Iowa State and No. 16 Utah.

Sanders isn’t wrong for thinking the Buffs need a much more consistent performance across all four quarters if they’re going to make it through the next month.

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