November 10, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — The questions Tuesday kept reaching ahead, to the final three games and to the offseason beyond them. Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders kept bringing them back to the practice field.
"We're thinking about one day, one play at a time," Coach Prime said as the Colorado football team opened a short week ahead of Friday's game against Houston at Folsom Field (8:15 p.m. MT, ESPN). "We need a good day of practice today. We get a good day of practice tomorrow, then the next day we need a great day of practice to give us the momentum, the understanding, the confidence to go in there and execute on the plays that we've been practicing. That's where we are right now."
It is, he said, the only way he knows how to work.
"I'm a now guy," Coach Prime said. "Let's focus on the now."
The Buffaloes have plenty to build on from the defensive side. Gideon ESPN Lampron was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week after an 18-tackle, two-sack night at Arizona State.
"What can I say? Everything, and then some," Coach Prime said. "Unbelievable, the way he goes about the game. Gideon plays hard every day in practice, and he takes it right over into the game. He's a leader."
He used the question to salute the linebackers as a group, and the coach who works with them.
"These guys are playing their butts off, man. Don't give up, no quit," Coach Prime said. "That room is phenomenal. Applaud Coach Hart. Defensively, I think that's the best room that we have."
Help may be on the way. Coach Prime said he expects at least one injured player to return against Houston.
Colorado has allowed five rushing touchdowns through nine games, which Coach Prime said is the program's fewest at this point of a season in 60 years. On offense, Joseph Williams' 121 receiving yards at Arizona State gave him his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
"Joseph is like that," Coach Prime said.
The Buffs were flagged five times in Tempe, right at the number they have been chasing. Five or fewer penalties was the first of six keys to winning that Coach Prime laid out to open Tuesday's team meeting.
"Five or less is the goal," he said. "You've got to give them realistic things that they can really try their best to attain and they can see themselves accomplishing."
Another of the six: "Just playing their hearts out for one another. Not just for family, friends and loved ones, but for one another."
Coach Prime said the effort has never been in question, and neither has his belief in the people around him.
"I think the kids are fighting. They will not give up. They don't have that gene in them," he said. "I have confidence in Brennan, Marve and everybody in that locker room. I really do. I love the job the coordinators are doing."
The standard, he said, starts with him.
"We want to be much better, trust me," Coach Prime said. "I've got to do a better job preparing these guys."
Asked what it takes for a young cornerback to learn to finish plays on the ball, he was brief.
"It's all want," Coach Prime said. "You've got to want it. You've got to want the ball more than your opposition."
One number he was glad to discuss came from the classroom. Told the team is carrying better than a 3.0 grade-point average, Coach Prime said academics are not negotiable in his program — attending class, and speaking up in it, online courses included.
"I want them to be more than just an athlete," he said. "You get 10 years in, now you're 30 years old. What are you gonna do with your life? So we stress that tremendously."
Colorado and Houston kick off Friday night at Folsom Field. The Buffs close the regular season at Cincinnati on Nov. 21 and at home against UCF on Nov. 28.
Watch the Press Conference
"We're thinking about one day, one play at a time," Coach Prime said as the Colorado football team opened a short week ahead of Friday's game against Houston at Folsom Field (8:15 p.m. MT, ESPN). "We need a good day of practice today. We get a good day of practice tomorrow, then the next day we need a great day of practice to give us the momentum, the understanding, the confidence to go in there and execute on the plays that we've been practicing. That's where we are right now."
It is, he said, the only way he knows how to work.
"I'm a now guy," Coach Prime said. "Let's focus on the now."
The Buffaloes have plenty to build on from the defensive side. Gideon ESPN Lampron was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week after an 18-tackle, two-sack night at Arizona State.
"What can I say? Everything, and then some," Coach Prime said. "Unbelievable, the way he goes about the game. Gideon plays hard every day in practice, and he takes it right over into the game. He's a leader."
He used the question to salute the linebackers as a group, and the coach who works with them.
"These guys are playing their butts off, man. Don't give up, no quit," Coach Prime said. "That room is phenomenal. Applaud Coach Hart. Defensively, I think that's the best room that we have."
Help may be on the way. Coach Prime said he expects at least one injured player to return against Houston.
Colorado has allowed five rushing touchdowns through nine games, which Coach Prime said is the program's fewest at this point of a season in 60 years. On offense, Joseph Williams' 121 receiving yards at Arizona State gave him his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
"Joseph is like that," Coach Prime said.
The Buffs were flagged five times in Tempe, right at the number they have been chasing. Five or fewer penalties was the first of six keys to winning that Coach Prime laid out to open Tuesday's team meeting.
"Five or less is the goal," he said. "You've got to give them realistic things that they can really try their best to attain and they can see themselves accomplishing."
Another of the six: "Just playing their hearts out for one another. Not just for family, friends and loved ones, but for one another."
Coach Prime said the effort has never been in question, and neither has his belief in the people around him.
"I think the kids are fighting. They will not give up. They don't have that gene in them," he said. "I have confidence in Brennan, Marve and everybody in that locker room. I really do. I love the job the coordinators are doing."
The standard, he said, starts with him.
"We want to be much better, trust me," Coach Prime said. "I've got to do a better job preparing these guys."
Asked what it takes for a young cornerback to learn to finish plays on the ball, he was brief.
"It's all want," Coach Prime said. "You've got to want it. You've got to want the ball more than your opposition."
One number he was glad to discuss came from the classroom. Told the team is carrying better than a 3.0 grade-point average, Coach Prime said academics are not negotiable in his program — attending class, and speaking up in it, online courses included.
"I want them to be more than just an athlete," he said. "You get 10 years in, now you're 30 years old. What are you gonna do with your life? So we stress that tremendously."
Colorado and Houston kick off Friday night at Folsom Field. The Buffs close the regular season at Cincinnati on Nov. 21 and at home against UCF on Nov. 28.
Watch the Press Conference
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballWednesday, November 11
Tuesday, November 10
Tuesday, November 03
Tuesday, November 03
