Colorado came to Northwestern and ate humble pie, getting demolished 41-7 in what was supposed to be the Wildcats’ final football game at their temporary home by Lake Michigan. And then came the detail that made things even messier for Colorado.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Several Colorado players were seen disparaging the stadium around kickoff, and social media quickly picked up on it. The controversy snowballed, eventually forcing Deion Sanders and Ben Finneseth to come forward and apologize.
Sanders then ensured the incident had consequences, going so far as to punish three players on the team. However, his actions backfired slightly, as fans began calling him out for being too strict with his players. Now, he has an answer for them.
“People made a big deal out of last week about us, you know, getting rid of a few kids. It wasn’t the team. It was just a few knuckleheads. Every occupation we have, it’s a few knuckleheads. Right. Everything. So don’t think it was the team. No. It was the few knuckleheads that I didn’t want to poison the team,” said Sanders in Buffaloes Primetime Radio Show.
As of now, the players involved have yet to be identified. Moreover, while the pregame incident got highlighted, even the behavior of Colorado players after the loss faced criticism. Several players were seen laughing on the sideline while the team was getting embarrassed by Northwestern.
Speaking to the media, Sanders made it clear that being tough was not his intention. However, he explained that “It’s never one [thing],” and said the decision reflected a broader standard he wanted to set for the program. He also looked back at last season, admitting, “A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough. It lingered a little bit. Then it imploded.”
After Colorado dropped from 9-4 in 2024 to 3-9 in 2025, Sanders seems determined to avoid another season slipping away because of problems within the program, making it clear Tuesday that unresolved issues will not be tolerated.
Losing a teammate is never easy for a team, and linebacker Tyler Martinez acknowledged that. However, he also recognized that mistakes had been made and did not push back against Sanders’ decision.
Martinez made it clear that the bigger picture matters most when it comes to winning. “When you look in the big picture, if it’s gonna help us win, we gotta do it,” he said. Defensive back Randon Fontenette backed up that mindset, adding that when someone falls short of the standard, “you gotta address it.”
A final decision on the roster moves may still be some way off. Colorado told Pete Nakos that the changes were not yet finalized and that an updated roster would be released later this week. So, while three players have been reported, that number could increase or decrease in the coming week. However, the whole fiasco has again put the Buffs under the scanner. It’s not the first time that the program has seen issues with discipline.
During his August 23 appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show, former Colorado player and FOX analyst Joel Klatt said that such actions should have been taken in the first or second year of Deion Sanders’ tenure. By now, the program should have established a fixed ‘culture’ around things that Coach Prime wants to see in Boulder. But time and again, things keep slipping away. In Week 4, Colorado has an away game against Baylor.