Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffs Moving Past Utah, Looking Ahead to Arizona
October 28, 2025 | Football
BOULDER — Lots of questions still surrounded Colorado head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders about the Buffaloes' disappointing 53-7 loss to Utah last Saturday night.
Coach Prime and his Buffs were overmatched in all three phases of the game, and as he admitted afterward, it was "probably the worst beating I've ever had."
An understandably packed media room was still looking for answers as Coach Prime sat at the podium on Tuesday. At the top of the query: examining his coaching staff and their roles.
"We do that from game-to-game," Coach Prime explained. "It's not something that we don't do. We just don't tell you all that we do it. We do that anyway. We're always looking to improve in every area of getting the guys prepared —not only that, but also in what's being called from play to play, situation to situation. You probably don't know this, but we have run game and pass game coordinators on both sides of the ball. So that's being challenged all the time. I challenge these guys all the time, and I challenge myself all the time to get it right. We just got to get it right. We're not achieving what we're capable of achieving at this point."
Another looming question that Coach Prime tackled was what does practice look like this week to get different results this coming Saturday against Arizona?
"First and foremost, last week was a tremendous surprise because of the great practices that we had," Coach Prime stated. "Hats off to the young men as well as the staff because we teach our young men to put things behind them, especially plays, and go to the next [play]. Now you have to put a whole game behind you and go on to the next opportunity, and that's practice. Oftentimes, you practice a certain way, and you play that same way. These young men have responded tremendously, and I'm proud of them that they're putting it aside and saying, 'You know what? We're better than this.' We have to focus. We have to lock in."
Colorado (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) has four games left this season and still has bowl eligibility on the line. In other words, there's no time to dwell on what happened at Utah, because there's still plenty of football left to play this season.
"These guys understand the assignment," Coach Prime reiterated. "They understand the mission. It was one of those days that it just didn't work. You got your butt kicked. Don't sugarcoat it. Don't placate it. It is what it is. Now, guess what? Let's flush the darn toilet and let's move on. And that's what we've done, because going back from Iowa State and what we just did, that's two different [Colorado] teams. We have to get back to that former team and then improve on that."
But don't be mistaken about the timeline. There's a sense of urgency that surrounds the Buffs as Colorado heads into the final stretch of the season.
"There's a sense of urgency every day," Coach Prime continued. "I don't give a darn what the record is. There's a sense of urgency. There's a sense of urgency at his point last year as well. We want to win every game. We want to win every play. We want to win every down. We're not going out there saying, 'let's just kick it all day. Let's get our butts kicked.' That's not the way I move. That's not the way I get down. I've never been that way in my life. Therefore, the goal is not only to win, but to dominate. That's the goal. Sometimes you don't reach that. I'm not comfortable with that. We're better than that. We're better than this. We really are. There's no way we could like that [against Iowa State] and then go play like that [at Utah]. That don't add up."
The turnaround, according to Coach Prime, starts with himself and then trickles down to his coaching staff and players. But it all comes down to keeping everyone accountable.
"It's a whole lot of checks and balances going on," Coach Prime admitted. "But you start at the top with yourself. When you look in the mirror, I have to be satisfied with what I'm giving to this university, as well as this team, because they've done a wonderful job of blessing me. So I feel the worst. I haven't been home yet [since getting back from Utah]. I've been here every night since. I haven't been home yet. That's how much I love it. That's how much I embody this university, what they've done for us. The fanbase sells out every darn game, and they have an expectation that we've created."
Arizona (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) was on its bye last week, but has lost its previous two games at Houston and against then-No. 18 BYU.
Kickoff for Saturday's Homecoming game is set for 5 p.m. MT on FS1.
Coach Prime and his Buffs were overmatched in all three phases of the game, and as he admitted afterward, it was "probably the worst beating I've ever had."
An understandably packed media room was still looking for answers as Coach Prime sat at the podium on Tuesday. At the top of the query: examining his coaching staff and their roles.
"We do that from game-to-game," Coach Prime explained. "It's not something that we don't do. We just don't tell you all that we do it. We do that anyway. We're always looking to improve in every area of getting the guys prepared —not only that, but also in what's being called from play to play, situation to situation. You probably don't know this, but we have run game and pass game coordinators on both sides of the ball. So that's being challenged all the time. I challenge these guys all the time, and I challenge myself all the time to get it right. We just got to get it right. We're not achieving what we're capable of achieving at this point."
Another looming question that Coach Prime tackled was what does practice look like this week to get different results this coming Saturday against Arizona?
"First and foremost, last week was a tremendous surprise because of the great practices that we had," Coach Prime stated. "Hats off to the young men as well as the staff because we teach our young men to put things behind them, especially plays, and go to the next [play]. Now you have to put a whole game behind you and go on to the next opportunity, and that's practice. Oftentimes, you practice a certain way, and you play that same way. These young men have responded tremendously, and I'm proud of them that they're putting it aside and saying, 'You know what? We're better than this.' We have to focus. We have to lock in."
Colorado (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) has four games left this season and still has bowl eligibility on the line. In other words, there's no time to dwell on what happened at Utah, because there's still plenty of football left to play this season.
"These guys understand the assignment," Coach Prime reiterated. "They understand the mission. It was one of those days that it just didn't work. You got your butt kicked. Don't sugarcoat it. Don't placate it. It is what it is. Now, guess what? Let's flush the darn toilet and let's move on. And that's what we've done, because going back from Iowa State and what we just did, that's two different [Colorado] teams. We have to get back to that former team and then improve on that."
But don't be mistaken about the timeline. There's a sense of urgency that surrounds the Buffs as Colorado heads into the final stretch of the season.
"There's a sense of urgency every day," Coach Prime continued. "I don't give a darn what the record is. There's a sense of urgency. There's a sense of urgency at his point last year as well. We want to win every game. We want to win every play. We want to win every down. We're not going out there saying, 'let's just kick it all day. Let's get our butts kicked.' That's not the way I move. That's not the way I get down. I've never been that way in my life. Therefore, the goal is not only to win, but to dominate. That's the goal. Sometimes you don't reach that. I'm not comfortable with that. We're better than that. We're better than this. We really are. There's no way we could like that [against Iowa State] and then go play like that [at Utah]. That don't add up."
The turnaround, according to Coach Prime, starts with himself and then trickles down to his coaching staff and players. But it all comes down to keeping everyone accountable.
"It's a whole lot of checks and balances going on," Coach Prime admitted. "But you start at the top with yourself. When you look in the mirror, I have to be satisfied with what I'm giving to this university, as well as this team, because they've done a wonderful job of blessing me. So I feel the worst. I haven't been home yet [since getting back from Utah]. I've been here every night since. I haven't been home yet. That's how much I love it. That's how much I embody this university, what they've done for us. The fanbase sells out every darn game, and they have an expectation that we've created."
Arizona (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) was on its bye last week, but has lost its previous two games at Houston and against then-No. 18 BYU.
Kickoff for Saturday's Homecoming game is set for 5 p.m. MT on FS1.
Colorado Football Postgame Press Conference at Utah
Sunday, October 26
Colorado Football Press Conference
Friday, October 24
Colorado Football Weekly Press Conference
Friday, October 24
Colorado Football Coaches Show | Presented by Aflac | 10.23.25
Friday, October 24