Head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs concluded the regular season on a high note Friday with a 52-0 shutout victory against Oklahoma State.

Sanders took time after Colorado secured its ninth victory of the year to reflect on his season and more in the press conference following the game. Here's a rundown of everything he said following the final game at Folsom Field this season.

Opening Statement:

"First and foremost, happy Thanksgiving to all that I didn't get a chance to say that too. Thanksgiving is not just about turkey and dressing and all of that, just about being thankful for what we are, who we are and how we are. We work in session right now. God is not through with any of us, thank God, we on our way. We head in the right direction. Now, let me transition to this team headed in the right direction. That was a phenomenal finish defensively. That's indicative of who we are in how we play the game of football, both coordinators, man, Rob and Pat man, my God, these guys are so darn good. I know you guys question a multitude of things from them, but they're so good, and they've been so consistent through the year. They've exceeded all expectations. We've exceeded all expectations, and I'm really happy where we are. We certainly wanted to take that one extra step last week, and we fell short. But look how we rebounded. Look how we wiped our tears and got back up, got on the horse and yelled, giddy up. And I'm proud of our young man. I think Travis clinched the Heisman with his performance. I think he made a lot of people aware of how ignorant they were, his performance today, three touchdowns, 100 yards, an interception, and two passes broken up. Should have had another pick hit him right in a darn chest. I think Sheduer proved that he should be right beside him. Special teams, great. I think Matta kicked his first field goal in several weeks. As for the opponent. We were not afraid, but just understanding that when a team comes here and you know that they know they're not going to a bowl they're going to come at us hard until you force them not to go hard anymore. And I'm thinking, that's what transpired. I adore that coach. He has some phenomenal words of encouragement after the game. He's a pillar of consistency in the Big 12. I think he's had two losing seasons in his whole career. That's unbelievable. I wish I could just touch the hem of his garment, biblically speaking, but I'm proud of where we are and what we've accomplished. I'm not wanting to go home and watch TV and wish somebody loses so we could go to the bowl game."

On the seniors:

"They're the ones who changed the game for us. They're the ones that impacted this wonderful learning institution. They're the ones that are responsible for the recruits that you're seeing commit. They're the ones that are responsible for the way that game was played, the way it panned out. They're the ones who put us on the map. They're the ones who have the multitude of these camera men and women and wonderful reporters in this room right now, and I just told them that to their face. So some of them, like Cam, that's been with me since he was a junior in high school, that stuff is tough, just talking with him here and there. BJ played for me when he was seven and eight years old in Dallas, and I could just keep going on and on and on. Shoot, I don't want to think about it too much, because I get emotional. But I don't just coach these young men. I love these young men like their family, and I just want to I just want them to soar, not just from the football aspect, but as young men in life. And that was tough just seeing them all around the stage, when I called them up in the locker room right before I came here, that's tough. I didn't really think about it until you know, you watching the last seconds tick off the clock like, dang, this is it. You know how long this journey's been with me and my kids, it's been a lot of ups and downs and in and outs and things you guys don't know about that we've overcome in a lot of adverse situations, a lot of highlights, man, it's been unbelievable to think that's the conclusion of the matter."

Balancing coaching and fatherhood:

"I've always been coaching dad, so I don't know any other way. It's not tough to balance that situation, because I don't know any other way. This is the first time l've seen the finish line. Usually, we're distance runners. Only sprinters see the finish line from the start. I'm a distance runner, so I never really see the finish line from the start, and today I saw it. So that's tumultuous, that's tremendous. That's heartfelt. I don't know how they're going to handle it, but Shilo is going to say he's glad that's the last game with me. I know who he is, but the others, it's going to be tough."

On getting the game started quick:

"That's what the plan was last week, to jump on them early, to try to make them understand who we are and who they are. It didn't happen that way. We made note of that, and we focused on all of that through the meetings, as well as all through practice sessions and our pre game speech, as well as our day before speech. We made note of all that so that we could have our business early on, because when we score early in the defense, that is hard to deal with."

On the biggest reward this season:

"Peggy is number one, we did what we said we were going to do. Number two is when you win, more of your young men get opportunities to go to the next level. Nobody wants losers. But when you win, everyone looks the part. And we have several young men in the East-West Shrine game.We're probably going to have several more in the Hula Bowl. And our kids are going to play in our bowl game, because that's what we signed up to do. And we're going to finish. We're not going to tap out, because that throws off the structure of next season. It's a couple teams, you take note, they laid an egg in the bowl game and they hadn't recovered. Since we don't plan on doing that. We plan on going out there fighting just like we fought today, regardless of where we are. I wish we had say in the bowl, because I want to go somewhere near that our fan base could get there economically, because I care about them that much. I think we have one of the best fan bases in the country. They showed up and showed out today. They're loud, they're boisterous, they're supportive. And I love them. I absolutely love them, because I've seen it go from nothing to something, and I think we had a lot to do with it."

On Jimmy Horn:

"Jimmy is like my kid. I love him that much. We've talked about some personal things through out his couple of seasons. I want to go with him Sunday to see his father as well, but he just turned around and asked me. So that's how that transpired. I said, you don't have to ask me twice.And just speaking pleasantries along the way. It's unbelievable, I love him that much, and I'm sad that he couldn't physically play, because he's a dog, so when he's hurt, he's hurt because he would have tried everything and given everything to play, and we would have gotten the ball. But he's tremendous, and I'm proud that I can assist that young man in any endeavor from here on out for the rest of his life."

On the seniors leading a shutout (first since 2021):

"It means a lot, especially rebounding from getting our butt kicked last week, it means a lot that they understand that they know how to flush stuff in life. They know how to rebound. They know how to just put it behind them and keep on going and look straight ahead. And I'm proud of them for that aspect of things. Rob called a tremendous game. He called a tremendous game last week, but this week, we responded. We did the things that were called, and we executed on a high note, on every aspect of the game. The way they were getting after it, the way we got after it. We kind of changed philosophies of getting to the ball all we can practice. And it worked, and paid off."

On Travis and the Heisman:

"He's the best player in college football. You could find ways to hate, to criticize, to condemn him, and you won't come out of that looking looking professional, because now you're just searching for something. But Travis Hunter proved today, and he's proved every week, that he is the best player in college football. I think he's up for best offensive player and defensive player. I don't waste my time talking about other athletes that are up for the award as well. That's not fair to them for me to voice my my bold opinion on who should win the award and downgrade them. I don't have to downgrade them. Travis is him. Travis is that dude. Nobody could deal with him on either side of the ball. If we put him at punt return, he would be that dude as well. A kick return as well. He's that guy, and his draft status is going to tell everyone who he is. Shouldn't that tell you who he is? He's probably going to be first or second pick out of the whole draft. That should tell you how dominant and prominent he is."

On the impact of the team this season

"It's tremendously impactful for recruiting and impactful for you all, for our fan bases as well. I mean, you get more viewership and stories that you report. You get more notoriety in the things that you write and things that you say, speak, things that's recorded. Everybody wins. I think that's the thing I really want to impress on all of you is not just us winning, you winning too. So you want to keep this up, because when you re not, half of this room is empty. Then nobody has jobs, right? But when we went in, everybody's working, everybody gets to call, everybody gets a /0D, everybody gets a hit. 'Hey, go cover Colorado in that truth'. So I think we should work together to keep this thing going instead of hating. I appreciate every last one of y'all. Good or bad."

On Isaiah Hardge:

"This kid is unbelievable. I have a nickname for him, he'll have to tell you what it is. But this kid works hard every day, makes great grades, never late. You don't have to call him twice for anything. He remembers his assignments, offensively, defensively, as well as special teams. And he doesn't miss, we'd put a package in for for him to be at running back. I think he got nine or eight yards, two carries. He's phenomenal, and he's always smiling. He loves the game, and knows the kind of young men we like to recruit. Those are the kind of young men that we adore."