Colorado's Deion Sanders: Shedeur Got Injection to 'Block Some of the Pain' vs. UCLA

Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders said Saturday that is son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, receiving a pain-relieving injection during the Buffaloes' 28-16 loss to UCLA.

According to ESPN's Paolo Uggetti, Deion said Shedeur got the ejection at halftime to "block some of the pain," although he did not expand on what injuries Shedeur may be dealing with.

Per Uggetti, Shedeur took a consistent beating throughout Saturday's loss, absorbing seven sacks and 17 hits, and getting knocked down 13 times.

Saturday marked Colorado's fourth loss in its past five games, and it was among the Buffs' worst offensive performances of the season as well.

Shedeur Sanders went 27-of-43 for 217 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, and he was credited with -20 rushing yards due to all of the sacks he took.

As a team, the Buffaloes had just 242 total yards of offense compared to 487 for the Bruins, and UCLA managed to win by two scores despite turning the ball over four times.

Deion Sanders seemed to put much of the blame for Colorado's struggles on the offensive line, saying: "Overall, we just don't have the fight and the passion to do what we want to do. The line has to improve. We have to have enough depth to be able to accomplish the goals that we set out to accomplish."

Meanwhile, Shedeur took responsibility for the offense being stuck in neutral, saying: "I just got to make my mind up faster and get the ball out of my hands quicker."

Colorado was the talk of the college football world early in the season when it started 3-0, including a 45-42 road upset over reigning College Football Playoff runner-up TCU in Week 1.

Shedeur was one of the leading Heisman Trophy candidates over the first month of the season, and while that is no longer the case due to a lack of team success, he has continued to put up strong numbers.

The talented signal-caller is competing 71.1 percent of his passes for 2,637 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions, plus he has rushed for three scores.

Sanders has been sacked 41 times, and while he has managed to keep Colorado competitive despite that, a lack of protection has consistently put the Buffs behind the sticks.

Colorado was once viewed as a potential contender in the Pac-12, but now the team is fighting for its life in terms of bowl eligibility.

The Buffaloes need to go at least 2-2 to qualify for a bowl game, but with games against No. 11 Oregon State and No. 13 Utah remaining, there isn't much room for error.