Deion Sanders saddened after latest Colorado loss: 'Toughest stretch of probably my life'

PULLMAN, Wash. – Colorado football coach Deion Sanders bundled up for the cold weather here Friday night but looked almost numb as he stood and watched what happened to his team against Washington State.

It wasn’t pretty. His Buffaloes lost, 56-14. His quarterback son, Shedeur Sanders, left the game with injuries in the second quarter and didn’t return. Even Deion Sanders appeared unusually quiet and uncomfortable on the sidelines, having fallen victim to sickness.

Afterward, he said his head was “throbbing.”

He also said this:

“This is the toughest stretch of probably my life.”

The celebrity crowds that swarmed to Colorado games early in the season have dwindled. So did the crowd on Friday at Martin Stadium (27,869), the first time all season the Buffs played in a stadium that wasn’t sold out.

The loss ends Colorado’s bid to become eligible for a postseason bowl game with only one game remaining in the regular season next week at Utah. After starting 3-0 to become arguably the biggest story in sports, the Buffaloes (4-7) now have lost seven of their last eight games and all of their last five.

How did Deion Sanders respond?

He had his own problems Friday as he battled a “foggy” head and sickness on a chilly autumn night on the Palouse of eastern Washington. He said it was an illness that’s made its way through the Colorado locker room but stressed that wasn’t why his team played the way it did.

Afterward, he addressed the news media before he addressed his players.

What did he plan to tell them after this blowout defeat to a team that had lost six straight games before Friday?

“What you gonna say?” he asked rhetorically. “What do you say? I said what I said at halftime, and I challenged them to go out there and stand up for themselves, for their family, for the name on the front and the name on the back (of their jerseys). I challenged them to stand up for that, and they responded. They didn’t lay down. They went out there and fought, so I’m proud of them. I really am.”

That’s how he felt about the second half, when the Buffs allowed no quarterback sacks and were outscored by “only” 14-7.

The first half was a different story.

“I’m very saddened of how we played,” said Sanders, who was hired at Colorado last December after the Buffs finished 1-11 in 2022. “We practiced hard this past week. We prepared like no other, and to go display a performance like that, it’s not indicative of who we are, what we are, how we are. And I’ve been boasting since the beginning of the season, I have not seen us quit.”

Did they quit in the first half Friday?

“I didn’t see quit,” he said. “I didn’t see that. Maybe not passion in the first half.”

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What happened in the game?

Shedeur Sanders was knocked out of the game with an injured arm and ankle in the second quarter and didn’t come back. He was sacked four times in his first 10 plays, including a big hit on his right throwing arm that forced a fumble. WSU defender Brennan Jackson then scooped up the loose ball and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, helping the Cougars take a 14-0 lead with 5:14 left in the first quarter.

By the time the first half was over, Washington State (5-6) led 42-7 and had scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. Washington State head coach Jake Dickert said afterward that it was "our best half of football."

"I thought we were the most excited to play," he said. "We were the most energetic to play, and we went out and executed the best."

Colorado’s lone score came after Shedeur Sanders returned to the game after suffering that hit -- a 45-yard touchdown strike to receiver Travis Hunter to help cut WSU’s lead to 14-7. But then on the ensuing kickoff, Washington State’s Leyton Smithson took the ball upfield before cutting to the left sideline and scoring a touchdown on a 98-yard return.

The Buffaloes punted six times in the first half and were outgained in total yardage, 285-117.

After halftime, the Buffs put in their No. 3 quarterback, Gavin Kuld, a temporary replacement for their No. 2 quarterback, freshman Ryan Staub.

Shedeur Sanders finished the game with 6-for-10 passing for 86 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions – enough for at least one milestone Friday. It helped him set a school record for passing yards in a single season (3,230), eclipsing Sefo Liufau's 3,200 in 2014.

WSU quarterback Cameron Ward completed 18-of-30 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

“We try to compare it to what we’re capable of,” Deion Sanders said. “We’re falling short of what we’re capable of. That’s the tough thing. That’s the thing that’s tremendously tough to digest week in and week out.”

What happened to Shedeur Sanders?

The big hit on his arm by Washington State defender Ron Stone Jr. led to numbness in his hand and forearm. He later suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter during a play that involved a missed snap from center. Shedeur didn’t return to play after that, the first time this year he's left a game because of injuries despite being the most-sacked quarterback in major college football.

“When they got Shedeur out of the game, it was just tough,” Deion Sanders said. “It was tough sledding from then on. … He couldn’t really grip the ball. He couldn’t really feel the ball.”

Will he play next week at Utah and risk more injury?

“Shedeur is not that kind of player that he wants to shut down,” his father said. “He wants to finish with his teammates. I’m pretty sure. I haven’t talked to him about it, but I’m pretty sure he wants to finish.”

Shedeur Sanders didn’t answer questions from the news media as he normally does after Colorado games. He was seen walking with a limp toward the Colorado locker room afterward.

Asked if he was surprised by what happened Friday, Deion Sanders answered with two words.

“Very, very,” he said. “Because it’s not who we are. I’m still trying to figure out our identity, trying to figure out who we are in turbulent times. And I still don’t know. After all these weeks, I still don’t know.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com