Coach Prime On Oklahoma State Week: 'We Just Got To Score The Football'
October 20, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders opened his weekly news conference Tuesday with a nod to the coach on the other sideline and a warning about the quarterback standing behind him.
Colorado (2-4, 1-3 Big 12) travels to Stillwater on Saturday to face Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1) [verify OSU conference record; kickoff/TV TBA], where first-year head coach Eric Morris has rebuilt the roster with a wave of players who followed him from North Texas — including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who led the FBS in passing a year ago.
"Coach Morris has been doing a great job," Coach Prime said. "I mean, a great job. Brought a ton of guys over with him, cleaned out the house a little bit, and got really what he wanted. Got a quarterback that could flat out spin it."
He didn't leave the predecessor out, either. Mike Gundy coached the Cowboys for two decades before his exit last season.
"If this gets back to Coach Gundy — I love you, appreciate you," Coach Prime said. "You not were, you are still the man. And anytime you want to fish, let me know."
Getting Mestemaker Off His Spot
Mestemaker has 34 completions of 20 or more yards this season, second in the country, and the Cowboys have scored on 30 of the 36 drives in which they've hit a chunk play. Coach Prime's plan is less about the scheme than the pocket.
"What we want to do is get him uncomfortable, get him off his spot," he said. "Because if he sits back there — even on the boots, when he gets his feet set — he's extremely accurate. Knows his offense like the back of his hand, and he can get it done. He's one of the best in the conference, as well as in college football, to me."
Asked whether Chris Marve's defense has turned the corner against mobile quarterbacks, Coach Prime pushed back on the premise where Mestemaker is concerned.
"I don't know if we call this kid a running quarterback," he said. "This kid, his best attribute is him throwing the football. He can run. He's shown ability to run. But I don't see him as a running quarterback. I see him as a guy that has a capability, but he wants to throw first."
The Second Half as the Standard
The lasting image from Saturday's 27-24 loss to Utah was a sideline that came alive when the offense did. Colorado went scoreless in the first half, then scored 24 points after halftime, 17 of them in the third quarter.
"Tremendous, because it builds confidence," Coach Prime said of the carryover. "They start being like the little engine that could. I think I can. I think I can. And they start believing that they could, and they got some things done. We still got a ways to go. But it was a good sign that we can score. When we can score, we could beat anybody in the country. We just got to score the football."
He was blunt about what the first halves have cost. Utah held the ball 37 minutes to Colorado's 23.
"At one point, I think they had the ball 15 minutes more than we did last week, and that's not a recipe to win," Coach Prime said. "If we could put up 30 points — 20-plus — first of all, we eliminate them having the football. So we got to do better offensively. I don't think it's just a one-man thing at this point."
The quarterback, he said, did his part. Isaac Wilson threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns against his former team, with two interceptions that Coach Prime graded differently.
"One of the picks, Isaac threw a heck of a ball," he said. "I think the ball was taken away from our receiver, so I'm not going to put that totally on him. The other one, he could do better than that. But he played good enough for us to win, and he didn't get down on himself. He didn't cry, bicker, murmur on the sideline. He just fought back and tried to get it done, and that's why we got confidence in Isaac."
'This is not that Kind of Party'
Asked why a team whose defense has outplayed its offense for most of the season hasn't fractured, Coach Prime pointed to the play he'd shown the team: Wilson escaping a broken pocket and finding JaQuail Smith, the sideline erupting behind it.
"They're fighting for one another," he said. "It's all love, it's all support, and I love those type of moments, because that shows how unified we are. And nobody's sitting up there anymore going off on the sideline like, 'The offense ain't doing this,' or, 'The defense didn't get a stop.' That's not in this locker room. This is not that kind of party, and I'm proud of that."
With six games left, he bristled at the word "regroup," then reframed it.
"Pivot, and understand what they're capable of," Coach Prime said. "We watched a tremendous video this morning from Ray Lewis talking about what it takes to get to that next level. We're preaching positivity, not negativity. These young men are not to be counted out. The staff is not to be counted out, and I really hope you don't count me out."
Students of the Week
Linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. and offensive lineman Yahya Attia earned Coach Prime's weekly nod. He also saluted Ralphie Handler Emma Morgan, who became the first woman to run one of the front positions in the 59-year history of the Ralphie program.
Watch the press conference.
Colorado (2-4, 1-3 Big 12) travels to Stillwater on Saturday to face Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1) [verify OSU conference record; kickoff/TV TBA], where first-year head coach Eric Morris has rebuilt the roster with a wave of players who followed him from North Texas — including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who led the FBS in passing a year ago.
"Coach Morris has been doing a great job," Coach Prime said. "I mean, a great job. Brought a ton of guys over with him, cleaned out the house a little bit, and got really what he wanted. Got a quarterback that could flat out spin it."
He didn't leave the predecessor out, either. Mike Gundy coached the Cowboys for two decades before his exit last season.
"If this gets back to Coach Gundy — I love you, appreciate you," Coach Prime said. "You not were, you are still the man. And anytime you want to fish, let me know."
Getting Mestemaker Off His Spot
Mestemaker has 34 completions of 20 or more yards this season, second in the country, and the Cowboys have scored on 30 of the 36 drives in which they've hit a chunk play. Coach Prime's plan is less about the scheme than the pocket.
"What we want to do is get him uncomfortable, get him off his spot," he said. "Because if he sits back there — even on the boots, when he gets his feet set — he's extremely accurate. Knows his offense like the back of his hand, and he can get it done. He's one of the best in the conference, as well as in college football, to me."
Asked whether Chris Marve's defense has turned the corner against mobile quarterbacks, Coach Prime pushed back on the premise where Mestemaker is concerned.
"I don't know if we call this kid a running quarterback," he said. "This kid, his best attribute is him throwing the football. He can run. He's shown ability to run. But I don't see him as a running quarterback. I see him as a guy that has a capability, but he wants to throw first."
The Second Half as the Standard
The lasting image from Saturday's 27-24 loss to Utah was a sideline that came alive when the offense did. Colorado went scoreless in the first half, then scored 24 points after halftime, 17 of them in the third quarter.
"Tremendous, because it builds confidence," Coach Prime said of the carryover. "They start being like the little engine that could. I think I can. I think I can. And they start believing that they could, and they got some things done. We still got a ways to go. But it was a good sign that we can score. When we can score, we could beat anybody in the country. We just got to score the football."
He was blunt about what the first halves have cost. Utah held the ball 37 minutes to Colorado's 23.
"At one point, I think they had the ball 15 minutes more than we did last week, and that's not a recipe to win," Coach Prime said. "If we could put up 30 points — 20-plus — first of all, we eliminate them having the football. So we got to do better offensively. I don't think it's just a one-man thing at this point."
The quarterback, he said, did his part. Isaac Wilson threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns against his former team, with two interceptions that Coach Prime graded differently.
"One of the picks, Isaac threw a heck of a ball," he said. "I think the ball was taken away from our receiver, so I'm not going to put that totally on him. The other one, he could do better than that. But he played good enough for us to win, and he didn't get down on himself. He didn't cry, bicker, murmur on the sideline. He just fought back and tried to get it done, and that's why we got confidence in Isaac."
'This is not that Kind of Party'
Asked why a team whose defense has outplayed its offense for most of the season hasn't fractured, Coach Prime pointed to the play he'd shown the team: Wilson escaping a broken pocket and finding JaQuail Smith, the sideline erupting behind it.
"They're fighting for one another," he said. "It's all love, it's all support, and I love those type of moments, because that shows how unified we are. And nobody's sitting up there anymore going off on the sideline like, 'The offense ain't doing this,' or, 'The defense didn't get a stop.' That's not in this locker room. This is not that kind of party, and I'm proud of that."
With six games left, he bristled at the word "regroup," then reframed it.
"Pivot, and understand what they're capable of," Coach Prime said. "We watched a tremendous video this morning from Ray Lewis talking about what it takes to get to that next level. We're preaching positivity, not negativity. These young men are not to be counted out. The staff is not to be counted out, and I really hope you don't count me out."
Students of the Week
Linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. and offensive lineman Yahya Attia earned Coach Prime's weekly nod. He also saluted Ralphie Handler Emma Morgan, who became the first woman to run one of the front positions in the 59-year history of the Ralphie program.
Watch the press conference.
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