Deion Sanders after CU Buffs’ continued inconsistency in loss to Oregon State: “It’s painful”

Shedeur Sanders wasn’t going to quit. The Colorado quarterback was limping around the sidelines while the Buffs trailed No. 16 Oregon State by 18 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s Pac-12 matchup, but he was willing to do whatever it took to give his team a fighting chance.

Facing a 2nd-and-34 with 12 minutes left, he threw a 23-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Omarion Miller, then found Xavier Weaver for a 12-yard completion for a first down. A few plays later, Shedeur rocketed the ball across the middle to dual-threat Travis Hunter for a 15-yard touchdown.

Sanders went on to throw two touchdowns in the fourth. The only problem was that the Buffs ran out of time, falling to Oregon State, 26-19, at Folsom Field.

CU hasn’t played consistently on offense since the season-opener against TCU. Instead, the Buffs tend to catch fire in spurts. Against the Beavers, CU had three points and 52 total yards in the first half before scoring 14 points in their last two possessions of the fourth quarter.

For coach Deion Sanders, CU’s inconsistencies have been “disheartening” to watch.

“We got some guys that say they want to be pros and they got to act like it,” Sanders said after the Buffs’ third straight loss. “There’s a difference between believing and thinking. We challenged the young men to come out in the second half and show us the action of belief.”

CU has been able to overcome its night-and-day brand of football in the past. In September, the Buffs overcame a 28-17 fourth-quarter deficit against Colorado State to win, 43-35, in overtime. They were down 17-14 at halftime against Arizona State but Shedeur led them down the field for a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of regulation.

At the same time, it’s one of the reasons the Buffs are 4-5 instead of potentially being a game away from bowl eligibility. In CU’s loss to USC, which was ranked eighth at the time, the Buffs were down 34-14 before making a remarkable comeback just to fall short at the end.

They were up 29-0 against Stanford but fell apart and lost 46-43.

On Saturday against Oregon State, the narrative continued. The Buffs were outgained 96-2 in the second quarter and trailed 23-5 in the fourth before catching fire down the stretch to lose by seven points.

“It’s painful,” Sanders said. “I loved the fact that they rallied at the end and gave a heck of an effort. I just wish we could do that in the first, second and third quarters.”