Colorado came away win a convincing 41-27 win against Texas Tech on Saturday. The Buffs now control their own destiny in the race for a spot in the Big 12 title game. CU leaned on a big second half to take down the Red Raiders in a game that featured a number of impressive performances, a few chaotic moments and several highlight plays in Lubbock.
Buffs' head coach Deion Sanders met with reporters to discuss it afterwards, and here's everything he said following CU's seventh victory of the season.
Opening statement: First of all, thank the Lord, for keeping us safe for giving us traveling mercy and all the guys that were injured tonight on either side. I pray that they recover in the heal. Great game. Great opponent. I knew Joey would have those guys ready. To play at all points from from from the beginning to the end. And they were started out slow. It's not indicative of to who we are, but I felt confident that in the second half we were going to do what we ultimately did. The main thing was stopping the run and, giving Shedeur time to throw the ball. And I think he was sacked, three times. One of I think it was on him or a couple of might have been on him, but other than that, we did a great job.I know the back had 137 yards, but, you know, a lot of them came in into, I think in the fourth quarter when we were in cover two and we were just trying to eliminate the pass. But other than that, young man played a really good game. And, tumultuous environment and I'm happy with the outcome. Let's go.
On how the Buffs bounced back from a slow start: It's almost like they gotta get head and face. They gotta get snap. They. They gotta get, you know, they gotta feel it. They gotta, they gotta feel the flow of the game. And I don't know why we liked it, because we do everything in our power to even the way we script practices to get, get, get started in the emphasis zone. Let's get off to a good start, because we knew if we got off to a good start, when the sky's the limit. Every game that we've gotten out to a great start, we've been very, strong, in victory margin. I think it has been about at least 14 points when we got out to a good start. But we came on in, we came on and did a great job at the end.
On fans throwing things on the field: They throw in everything, but. But my mom had me, you know, in my career, you gotta stand. I played baseball and football, so batteries and all kind of stuff. So this is normal. So we tried to prepare our young men for that. Thank god. Tortilla. What? That's what you got, right? It's soft. It's not hard. But when they start throwing the water bottles in those other objects, that's when you gotta learn to the officials and say, okay, now these tortillas and one thing, but you know, but water bottles and other things that that get a little crazy. But I'm thankful, I think joy grab the microphone and try it is a time out of one of his kids is down and you say, man, I apologize. I had to do it last week, so I had to do the same thing. I had to grab the microphone and, talk to our students as well about throwing things. So he handled it professionally and that that's indicative to who he is. Was that with the conversation with the officials, there was no that was something else.
One of the officials said something that I couldn't say.
On if this was the Buffs' most resilient showing: I'm not going to say it is the most resilient, because I think we came back at the end of the game, threw a marine, one of them, and that was resilience coming back from the deficit. But I'm proud of them because they never give up. And I don't flinch because I know who they are. I know, okay, it's going to come. We're going to it's going to come. It's not about the play calling. It's not about we just not execute. We're not executing and doing was call on certain plays and you have one guy bust or another guy busted that disarms and disabled the whole darn play. And that's the kind of foolish things that happens that you may not know of.
On Amari McNeill's performance: Amari understood his opportunity. He understood his time. I mean everybody's talking about they want to go pro. But you got to practice like a pro. You got to play like a pro and perform like a pro. So he had his opportunity and he took advantage. We told him there's a difference between a chance and an opportunity. Sometimes we take chances and we're responsible for that chance. Given I got a chance. He had opportunity, man, and he made good on it.
On Nikhai Hill-Green: he did a great job. We got some guys that I think the front was responsible for what transpired tonight. Setting the stage for stopping the run consistently. I mean, they got yards, but there was yards later on in the game that they just got, but we probably would have held the gentleman to under 100 yards had we really did the game play that like it was supposed to go.
On Shilo Sanders' game-sealing scoop and score: We played until we hear a whistle man. That's what we practice. And he does that in practice quite a bit. He really does. He plays to the whistle scoops the ball or these guys are picking the ball off going to the sideline. Big play. Put the game out of reach. Great play great play for me.
On Cash Cleveland coming in at center: I don't know yet, but we're we're not scared to put him in if he practices. And he was practicing with one all week, they were alternating. So if I don't know what prompted that because I, you know, during the game and so much, so many things happen. But we don't flinch when cashes in. It's not like we're we're stepping down. We're not whatsoever. You're talking about a guy who watched a ton of film. You talking about a guy who's tremendously prepared, you talking about a guy who's probably out wait every game, but he knows technique and fundamentals and he does the job. So I'm really proud of him. And also what it shows is that we don't care about if you're a five star, four star, a walk on which he goes, it is out there playing a valuable time, not not garbage time. He's out there playing and putting in some real, production for us. So I'm proud of cash. He's one of my favorites as well.
On playing in a hostile environment: We thrive on that. We've always, been in adverse situations everywhere we travel is adverse situations everywhere we go. You know, some of the typing and the pens and the paperwork or puts us in an adverse situation. It's not one time that I'm not getting rid of my mind or my phone, or someone's talking about us and putting us in adversity. So these young men, they were bred for this man. We we we talk about this. We try to prepare them for things throughout the week that may happen, that could possibly happen, that will happen. And they, stand up to the challenge. I'm proud of them. I really am. For what they doing, what they're doing.
On the run defense: Well, when you when you set up the run, you could you could predicate what's going to happen on the second and longs.Third and longs and, you know, got a young quarterback. So he hadn't seen a lot of coverages and and truth be told we got some really good defense backs. We we really do. Those guys they love to play man. But we played a lot of zone tonight as well. But they're good early in the game and they were picking us the depth I mean they were picking us to life and we're one of their fish like this is a pick. It's no way a guy's going to run wide open across the field. We don't have that coverage. We don't have the defense that a guy is wide open across the field. But they were doing a great job picking. But we had to change. And, Rob did a good job of putting us in the proper defense so the guys could communicate and do what we had to do to stop them.
On playing against head coach Joey McGuire: Pure class. I mean, I look up the joy. Joy was, the magnitude, bloody lack of high school football in Texas. And see the here he was him. I mean, you know, everybody wanted their kids to have opportunity to play with joy for joy. And he's still one of those guys that when I have a question I could call, I could lean on even, in defeat. Joey was so admirable and so encouraging and motivating for me as well. My son Bucky, who's he's walking out right now, play for Joy. So, he he's one of my favorites. He's truly one of my favorites. And he's a great coach. In this in this, Big 12 conference.
On being second in the Big 12 conference and rising to the occasion: Every game is that. Isn't it? Yeah, but I don't think we we don't change with the steak. You guys change with the steaks. We don't change with the steak. Like what we're doing right now. We planned on it. We didn't plan on losing two games. We didn't play it on those. And we plan on winning. And, we plan on winning each week. We're not looking for that, down the street or down the road to the championship. Because we look that far. We never reach our destination of preparing tomorrow. Practicing. If if I decide to practice, depending on what is playing right is going to be. Is it snowing back in Boulder? Still is. It's good. It's beautiful. It's, It's good. So we can practice. Practice good. So I'm proud of them. I'm proud of them. But our expectations are truly our expectations.
On the penalties: That's not who we are. The stupid stuff like hitting the quarterback, pushing the court. This is stupid. That just this class that we don't do that we we coach and we teach against that. First of all, we always talk about hitting it ways down. Let's go. Waist down. Anything waist up. It's going to be a penalty. You know you already know that. And if you're not there to sack him let him go. Let him ride. Because we can't get upset because we got some some great calls on your door as well. So that that there were violent back there dealing with your door. But that's not indicative of who we are. The low penalties, I think it was one. I forgot what Preston did in the end zone. Like, I don't understand that. And I don't understand that kind of stuff, but the other, flagrant stuff. We got to be better. We got to be smarter. We don't teach that foolishness, I promise you. And I think usually when you see them make a penalty like that, you see them come right out of the game.
On Shedeur Sanders calming down: I didn't know he calmed up the side door. You gotta ask these guys. He rock steady. He don't flinch. It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time. What was he didn't like? Where is he? That area 43 for two, 90, 189 yards. We we was trying was trying to get him his 300. He was trying to get it. Travis is 100 right. We were definitely was trying. But, you got to get LaJohntay his balls as well as Will. Jimmy going out really played a vital role because we had so much for Jimmy this week and the game plan and and that kind of triggered us a little bit of for them all. We got to do better on our kickoff teams. We got to get the darn ball in the end zone. May didn't have a great game planning, but at the end he came up and he was made like he was supposed to be, but proud of him.
