BOULDER, Colo. – Deion Sanders watched his Colorado offense put up 49 points against the best-scoring defense in the Big 12 on Saturday, but he’s not satisfied. The coach expects dominance in all three phases of the match.

The Buffaloes defeated Utah in two of the three stages and ultimately went on the offensive in a 49-24 win, extending their win streak to four games and ensuring they would stay in the Big 12 championship race the rest of the way . Afterwards, Sanders delivered criticism that sounded more like a warning.

“We haven’t even put it all together yet,” Sanders said. “Like, we haven’t even played our best game yet. That in itself should be scary. Man, when I said we were coming, we still came. We never stopped coming. We’re coming.” We are not there yet.”

Colorado (8-2, 6-1) got a strong start from its defense, which held the Utes (4-6, 1-6) to 83 yards on 33 plays in the first half, and a punt return touchdown of 76 yards from receiver LaJohntay Wester to make up for a bumpy offensive start. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was intercepted on his first pass of the day and later scrambled for another turnover.

It may not have been the Buffaloes’ best performance of the season, but it was a 25-point victory over the preseason Big 12 leader, snapping a seven-game losing streak against a program whose last win was over Folsom Field scored 63-21.

“I think that says a lot about the program and where we are,” Deion Sanders said. ‘We have to tighten up a number of things and get them in order, but you can see that we are going in the right direction.

“We started off rough. That wasn’t indicative of who Shedeur is, and I thought he was pretty good the whole game. Then I look at the stats and he’s 30-for-41 for 340 (yards) and three (touchdowns ) ) Come on man, I guess I’m just a hard dad to please, and a hard head coach too.

Sanders praised Utah’s defense and the problems it presented all day, saying he was grateful for the challenge. It took complementary football to overcome the two first-half turnovers, with Colorado’s defense holding Utah to field goals after both points. The Buffaloes didn’t give up a touchdown until midway through the third quarter.

“Things like this can’t happen,” Shedeur Sanders said, “and I’m going to talk to the entire offense and apologize for my performance there at the beginning because I can’t put the team in that position.” I’m grateful for the defense. Maybe I should take them out to dinner this week because they saved me and the team.”

Sanders responded after the fumble by spearheading an 85-yard touchdown drive, with another highlight moment for Travis Hunter. Sanders threw deep to Colorado’s two-way star on a fourth-and-8 and Hunter made a leaping grab on two Utah defenders for a 25-yard gain. Sanders hit Will Sheppard for an 8-yard score on his next throw, extending Colorado’s lead to 21-6.

Hunter added to his Heisman Trophy resume Saturday with 55 receiving yards on five catches, a 5-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse and his third interception of the season while playing 132 snaps.

When asked if he had a message for undecided Heisman voters, Deion Sanders didn’t hesitate.

Travis Hunter after his third interception of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NhvAnbGLow

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 16, 2024

“If they can’t see, they can’t see,” Sanders said. ‘It is what it is. I mean, Travis is who he is. It should go to the best college football player. I think that’s been a turnaround since week 2? So we didn’t petition anyone. We don’t do that. We have a wonderful collection of cameras here and I think we are on national television every week. If they can’t see it, there’s a problem.

“Don’t let their hatred of me hinder the success of our kids. They gotta stop that. Y’all gotta stop it. Some of you are like that. Y’all gotta stop that, man. Give the kids what they deserve, man. I played for 14 years. You had 14 years to hate me.

Hunter was the Heisman leader in ESPN BET odds entering Week 12 at +125, ahead of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Colorado’s defense was able to put constant pressure on freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, forcing four sacks and three interceptions, and Utah finished with just 31 rushing yards, the fewest in a single game since 2011. The No. 12 Utes of the preseason were considered the Big 12 favorite. are entering their first season in the conference but are now in danger of their first losing season since 2013.

“I’m in the twilight zone,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… It’s definitely the hardest year of my coaching career, not even close.”

Colorado continues to control its destiny in pursuit of a Big 12 championship game, as the only team in the 16-member conference to have lost just one conference game on Saturday. The Buffaloes’ four-game winning streak since a 31-28 home loss to Kansas State on Oct. 12 is the longest of Sanders’ two-year tenure.

After a 4-8 debut season, he has this once-struggling schedule exactly where he planned to be for Year 2. In a league known for dramatic games decided by a one-score margin, Sanders is not only trying to survive and continue to Arlington. He says he aims for ‘impeccable’.

“We expect to be here,” Sanders said. “Many of you didn’t expect us to be here, nor do you think we don’t know. But we expected to be where we are now. In fact, we expected to be slightly better.’