Deion after KU loss: ‘Got intoxicated with success’

• Max Olson, ESPN Personnel WriterNov 23, 2024, 09:54 PM ET

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  • Covers the Big 12
  • Signed up with ESPN in 2012
  • Graduate of the University of Nebraska

KANSAS CITY, Mo.– Colorado’s course to the Huge 12 national championship and a prospective College Football Playoff quote got a lot more complex Saturday after Kansas pulled off a dominant 37-21 win over the No. 16 Buffaloes.Kansas running back Devin Neal produced 287 yards from scrimmage and 4 goals to power an offense that showed unstoppable. The Jayhawks (5-6, 4-4)outrushed Colorado 331-42 and ended up with no punts or turnovers in a game they never tracked at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.After winning four in a row, the Buffaloes (8-3)were in prime position to reach the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas, if they won out. Now, they’re stuck in a three-way tie atop the conference standings with Arizona State and BYU at 6-2, with 5-2 Iowa State wanting to make it a four-way tie with a win over Utah on Saturday night.Editor’s Picks 2 Related If all four groups complete tied at 7-2, the conference verified that Arizona State would earn the No. 1 seed and would

deal with Iowa State

, according to its tiebreaker policy. “We began smelling ourselves a bit,”Colorado coach Deion Sanders stated.”That’s what I just told our group. We got intoxicated with the success

. We got intoxicated with the multitude of short articles and the presumption that we’re this and the presumption that we’re that. And we did not play CU football. For that reason, we got our butts kicked. It is what it is.”Colorado’s defense was amongst the most improved in FBS this season however had no answers for getting Neal, quarterback Jalon Daniels and a run-heavy Kansas offense off the field. Neal hurried for 207 lawns on a career-high 37 brings and caught 4 passes for 80 yards. The Jayhawks had 11 3rd -or fourth-down conversions and regulated time of ownership, 40:11 to 19:49. “We could not stop the bleeding, “Sanders stated.”We tried regularly, however we could not stop the bleeding. That’s hats off to them. They were physical. They out-physicaled us. They outplayed us.

They wanted it a lot more than we did.” Sanders said he felt first-year Buffaloes protective organizer Robert Livingston called a”pretty good game.”He wasn’t shocked by the Jayhawks’offending wrinkles as they rolled to 520 total yards. His team just couldn’t find out a way to execute and get stops.”They didn’t punt one time,”Sanders said.After a 1-5 start, the Jayhawks have actually rallied and become the very first FBS team in history with a losing record to beat three consecutive top-25 opponents. They can protect bowl eligibility for the third year in a row– an initially in program history– with a win at Baylor on Saturday.

“I’m very pleased with them and their willpower and resiliency of going through it,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “There was a great deal of negativity spending time about what was wrong with this program and what should be done and things like that. We have actually discussed how close we were for a long time. They owned it, they kept working, they stuck and you can see the outcomes of that. I think it’s something that’s genuinely special.”Heisman Prize front-runner Travis Hunter caught 8 passes for 125 lawns and two goals, and Shedeur Sanders threw for 266 backyards and 3 ratings on 23-of-29 passing, however a sluggish start had the Buffaloes playing from behind quickly.Colorado going three-and-out on its opening offending drive led to its defense being stuck on the field for 11 of the game’s first 12 minutes and a 10-0 deficit. The Buffaloes ‘next possession ended in a fourth-down stop, with running back Dallan Hayden turning up a backyard brief on fourth-and-3 from the KU 41-yard line. 8 plays later, it was 17-0.

The Jayhawks leaned on a profession day from Neal, their all-time leading rush, the rest of the way. The senior from Lawrence, Kansas, exceeded 200 rushing yards for the 2nd time in his profession, this one on senior day.”He’s really a special back,”Leipold said,”and fittingly so, I believe, for him to play his last home game– no matter where we’re dipping into the moment– for him to have that type of game really puts an exclamation mark on his efficiency and profession here. “Colorado closes out the regular season versus Oklahoma State (3-8, 0-8 )on Friday and now will require a lot of assistance to bet a

Big 12 title. Deion Sanders pledged his team will get things repaired and look”far better” in its finale.”You’ve got to refocus your boys and let them comprehend this is not about turkey and dumplings and cranberry sauce and whatever you have, “he stated.”It’s not about that. It has to do with football, guy.”