- Colorado coach Deion Sanders promised ‘severe changes’ after his team finished the season with a 3-9 record.
- The Buffaloes lost their final game of the season 24-14 to Kansas State, marking their fifth straight loss.
- Players cited a lack of leadership as a contributing factor to the team’s struggles this season.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders made a bold promise about the future of his football team after a 24-14 loss at Kansas State on Saturday in the final game of his third season in charge.
He called it the ‘Last Supper” — a Biblical reference to the last supper of Christ before his crucifixion and resurrection. After finishing the season with a 3-9 record, it was the last thing Sanders said to reporters before heading back home to make “severe changes” to his roster and coaching staff.
“If anybody’s built to reconcile and to get this back on course, it’s me,” Sanders said after the game in Manhattan, Kansas. “And I will do it if it’s the last thing I do on Earth. Trust me when I tell you: This was the last supper. God bless you.”
Sanders also reminded reporters that he’s “not a loser.”
“I don’t handle it well,” he said. “I don’t cope well.”
The Buffaloes finished with five straight losses and beat only one team with a winning record in 2025 (Iowa State). They were also 0-5 in road games and 1-8 in the Big 12 Conference.
“We won’t be in this situation again, I promise you that,” Sanders said. “I can promise you that, because I’m not happy with nothing right now. Nothing.
What happened in Deion Sanders’ final game of 2025?
His team showed a heartbeat despite the cold and snowy conditions in front of an announced crowd of 49,549. The Buffaloes even pulled to within 17-14 with 7:03 remaining after 1-yard touchdown run by running back Micah Welch. But then the bottom fell out on the next defensive series. Kansas State running back Joe Jackson burst up the middle, broke a tackle and spun loose into the end zone for a 17-yard score with 2:43 remaining to help put his team 24-14.
In response, the Buffs couldn’t move the ball past the Kansas State 42-yard line and turned the ball over on downs after a sack. Sanders even declined to use its final two timeouts.
Jackson finished the game with 142 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
Sanders said afterward that change is the first order of business when he returns to Boulder.
“I see everything being different, even me,” Sanders said of next season.
Colorado players blame lack of leadership
Senior quarterback Kaidon Salter made his ninth start of the season for Colorado, this time replacing freshman Julian Lewis, who sat out the game to take a redshirt year this season. Salter completed 14-of-25 passes for 172 yards with one interception.
The Buffs used three quarterbacks this year, including two starts for Lewis and one for sophomore Ryan Staub.
“We been playing a lot of different quarterbacks,” Salter said afterward. “Nobody really knew who that guy was from spring ball to now.”
Salter said that helped create a leadership void after the departure of last year’s starting quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son.
“Sometimes when it’s one week you’re starting here, then the next you’re on the bench, so now you want to listen to this guy instead of this guy,” Salter said. “So it was just, it was a lot of confusion in our room, but I’m sure next year, they’ll be way better with it.”
Colorado linebacker Jeremiah Brown added that natural leaders don’t need to ‘try’ to lead.
“It just naturally happens,” Brown said. “And unfortunately, we just didn’t have very many of those.”
What will Deion Sanders do now?
Changes are in store for his coaching staff. Running backs coach Marshall Faulk is expected to be named the new head coach of Southern on Monday. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was stripped of play-calling duties this year with a contract expiring in January.
Their roster is another matter. Sanders hopes to keep a core group of top players, including Lewis, the quarterback, who said he is committed to staying at Colorado. Standout offensive tackle Jordan Seaton might be a harder sell with one season left before he’s expected to leave for the NFL.
Sanders was asked about talent retention after the game.
“The No. 1 reason people leave is money,” Sanders said. He said that wasn’t an excuse. But “it helps,” he said.
It’s also clear his program needs more than just another offseason commitment to getting stronger and bigger physically.
“It could make them look like Tarzan,” he said. “But we can’t play like Jane.”
Sanders even credited reporters for putting up with what they say this year.
‘God bless you guys,’ he said to them. ‘You guys have been kind even considering the foolishness that you saw on the field and on the sideline this whole year. I appreciate you guys… You don’t have to go easy on me. I’m a big boy. I’ve been doing this for a long time. And when I win, I don’t mind a clap. When I lose, I don’t mind a boo. I played this game. I know this game, like the back of my hand. And I love this game. And I love all the ups and downs and ins and outs about it. And I’m built for every last bit of it.’
Sanders’ three-year record at Colorado is now 16-21, including a 4-8 season in 2023, followed by 9-4 last year.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com