A punishing season for the Colorado Buffaloes and Coach Prime finally came to an end with a 23-17 loss to the Utah Utes.
The defeat during Week 13 of college football action was the Buffs' eighth loss in their last nine games, making for horrible reading as the team finished bottom of the Pac-12.
It was not all doom and gloom for Deion Sanders' daughter, Deiondra Sanders though. She has been supporting her father every step of the way this season, attending games and reacting enthusiastically on social media after each game.
She posted a picture on her Instagram stories of Coach Prime looking dapper with the caption:
"That man fly."
A woeful end to a promising season for Coach Prime
The Buffaloes shocked everyone with a high-tempo start to the season and went 3-0. Things fell apart in the Buffs' blowout loss against the Oregon Ducks at the Autzen Stadium and they went on to lose eight of their next nine games to finish the season 4-8.
After another blowout loss, this time to Washington State, the usually upbeat Deion Sanders sounded downcast and made a startling declaration in his postgame news conference:
“This is the toughest stretch of probably my life,” Sanders said.
During his weekly news conference before the game against the Utah Utes to close out the season, Sanders sounded more optimistic about the future. Some of his bravado had returned.
"We pretty much put a mark in college football, and what we’re gonna do from here on, it will never be the same," he said. "I promise you that, because I know how we’re recruiting. I know what I know, and I know where we headed. And you gotta be crazy if you can’t see it. It’s easy to look at us play and say, 'OK, all they need is that, that, that and that,'" Sanders said.
CFB world reacts to Colorado's season
Analyst Jason Whitlcok has been relentless in his criticism of Coach Prime and his coaching methods. At the end of the season, he was at it again on an episode of his show, 'Fearless'.
“Deion’s leadership does not work. I don’t care next year if they won every game. His leadership style is inappropriate, immature, poisonous and corrosive. Just based on football, I didn’t think what Deion was doing was going to work this year," Whitlock said.
He further accused Coach Prime gearing his team towards his son, Shedeur Sanders, and made a big accusation.
"Schematically, the obsession with his son, the padding of his son’s stats, and running an offense that in no way allowed that offensive line to develop, mature and get better. He sacrificed everything trying to put his son in the Heisman race.
"He put his son’s health in danger to put his son in the Heisman race. It was bad strategy and anyone with a football IQ over 10 could see," Whitlock added.
It has been a season of ups and downs for the Colorado Buffaloes and as always, Coach Prime will always be a divisive figure come what may.
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