Deion Sanders just beat No. 14 Houston 42-32, and the same sports media that spent weeks measuring him for a pink slip now has to explain why fans stormed the field in Boulder for the second straight home game.
Colorado's first win over a Top-15 opponent since 2007 didn't just keep bowl hopes alive at 4-6. It exposed, again, how quickly the press turns on anyone who wins outside their approved model. Yahoo Sports framed the result as a victory that "possibly saves Deion Sanders' job." USA Today noted the win "quieted questions about Sanders' job security" — as though those questions arose organically and weren't manufactured by the same outlets now reporting on them. Sports Illustrated, to its credit, focused on Sanders' emotion and the win itself, rather than hot-seat chatter.
The Buffaloes fell behind 20-7 in the second quarter before ripping off 28 unanswered points. They rushed for 249 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries — their highest rushing total since 2021. Alabama transfer Richard Young led the way with 99 yards and two scores. When starting quarterback Isaac Wilson went down with a left leg injury, freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne came in and scored on his first play, a 14-yard touchdown run that put Colorado up 35-20.
Afterward, Sanders made clear he knows exactly who's been writing him off. "I'm really, really thankful that the young fan base don't listen to the foolishness," he said. "They don't go online and go back-and-forth with an idiot who's never been in the stadium." He added: "Kids love kids, regardless of what some may write, what someone may tweet, post or say on your wonderful news stations."
Safety Randon Fontenette backed his coach plainly: "We all want him here. Like, I came here for him, to play for him. That's why I really play hard, because I love playing for Coach Prime, man. He's a good guy, a good coach, and he's taught me a lot."
Sanders opened his postgame remarks the way he always does — with gratitude to God. "God, they're resilient," he said of his players. It's the kind of open Christian profession that makes certain sportswriters uncomfortable, and it's part of why the establishment press has never quite known what to do with a man who coaches on his own terms.
Colorado needs wins at Cincinnati on Nov. 21 and at home against Central Florida on Nov. 28 to reach bowl eligibility at 6-6. The schedule is favorable. The question isn't whether Sanders can coach. The question is whether the press will ever admit it.
