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Deion Sanders talks about loss against Nebraska and the same problems with the Buffaloes

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LINCOLN, Nebraska – Looking for positive things to say after his team suffered a 28-10 loss here in Nebraska, Colorado football coach Deion Sanders came up with this:

His team won the second half 10-0.

“I'm just excited,” Sanders said after the game. “I mean, you have to understand that in a situation like that, you have to find something to hold on to to encourage your team. And I'm really excited about the second half that we played.”

That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that despite overhauling their roster for the second year in a row, Sanders and the Buffaloes still have many of the same problems as last year.

∎ Last year they allowed the second-most quarterback sacks in the country (56). On Saturday they allowed six more.

∎ Last year, the Buffaloes ranked last in the nation with 68.9 rushing yards per game. On Saturday, they managed just 16 rushing yards on 22 carries.

∎ Last year they also had the third most penalties in the country with 107. On Saturday they had nine more, totaling 104 yards.

Isn't he worried about all these recurring problems?

“Yeah,” Sanders said before emphasizing his team's success again after halftime. “And I wish I had two weeks of problems without anyone really scoring against us in the second half. I wish I had those problems a year ago. Those are good situations. Now we just have to get it together in the first half. It's always moving forward, man.”

In this case, Colorado also has other problems

For example, Colorado's offense should be explosive this year, as evidenced in Colorado's first game, a 31-26 win over North Dakota State.

Why did Nebraska have such big problems with its defense?

“I have no idea,” Sanders said. “If we had known the answer, I think we would have reacted more quickly. We just never got it going until it was too late.”

After dominating the first half, Nebraska led 28-0 at halftime. The Cornhuskers (2-0) then tried to kill time, especially in the third quarter, when they devoured 9:30 of the 15-minute half.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, finished the game completing 23 of 38 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked twice in his first four games and threw an interception in the first quarter that was returned 7 yards for a touchdown. By the end of the game, his team had converted just four of 14 third downs.

Like his father, Shedeur didn't want to say too much when asked if his team had the same blocking problems as last year.

“I'm not sure,” he said. “I haven't seen the movie yet.”

Shedeur said his team came to the game well prepared, but then came the reality of a live game in front of 86,906 sold-out fans at Memorial Stadium.

“Maybe it was everyone on the team, maybe we just weren’t ready,” Shedeur Sanders said.

Deion Sanders makes a comment about Matt Rhule

Last year, Deion and Shedeur Sanders had “personal” issues with the Cornhuskers and their coach Matt Rhule before the game.

A year later, Deion Sanders called Rhule a “great guy” and said something about him after the game that might be hard to stomach for Colorado fans who hate everything about rival Nebraska.

“I'm glad if we're going to get a beating, it might as well be him, a God-fearing man,” said Deion Sanders.

Last year, the Buffs finished 4-8 in Coach Prime's first season after starting 3-0, including a 36-14 home win over Nebraska. They are now 1-1 heading into next Saturday's game at rival Colorado State.

“Sometimes you have games like that,” Deion Sanders said. “Sometimes you have days like that. And this was just one of those games and days at the same time. But no excuses.”

What Matt Rhule said about Deion Sanders' team

Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 23 of 30 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown for Nebraska, which also scored two rushing touchdowns by running back Dante Dowdell.

Nebraska is now 2-0 for the first time since 2016, when the Huskers finished 9-4.

“This is a really good football team,” Rhule said of Colorado. “They're going to make a lot of noise in the Big 12. The No. 5 (receiver Jimmy Horn Jr.), No. 12 (two-way star Travis Hunter) and No. 2 (Shedeur Sanders) defensive linemen are the best players to play against. They're as active and violent defensively as we've ever seen.”

Hunter looked frustrated for much of the night. He had 10 catches for 110 yards and three tackles on defense. Horn had just three catches for 26 yards after catching seven balls for 198 yards in the season opener.

Deion Sanders' postlude theme

How Colorado responds to this loss remains to be seen. Will the Buffs slump like they did last year, when they lost eight of their last nine games? Or will they bounce back and beat their in-state rival on the road next Saturday?

“We have to be able to handle the pressure,” said Deion Sanders. Not just the pressure from the opposing defense, but the “pressure of the game, the pressure of the moment.”

“I want to see how we all respond to adversity,” Deion Sanders said.

That's especially true of the offensive line, which Colorado rebuilt after last year with transfer players and freshman tackle Jordan Seaton, the country's top offensive line recruit. Sanders chose his words carefully when describing their performance Saturday.

“Protection was a problem,” Sanders said. “I'm trying to be polite and say it, because I could say the same thing you said, but if I say it, you're saying I'm throwing my people under the bus,” Sanders said. “I'm definitely not doing that. Protection was a problem. We need to find a way to stop that and make it better.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @SchrotenboerEmail: [email protected]

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