Deion Sanders Rips QBs 'Disabling Us and Disarming Us,' Teases Colorado Change After Texas Tech Loss

Colorado coach Deion Sanders challenged his quarterbacks following Saturday's 29-7 defeat to Texas Tech.

"That's the position that's somewhat disabling us and disarming us," he told reporters. "Somebody's got to step up and take hold of it and get it done."

Sanders went on to say he "expected a win" and that "the score is not indicative of who these guys are and who we are." He proceeded to single out the QB play again.

"Let's stop the shenanigans, man," he said. "We got one darn problem. You guys know darn well what that is. Let's stop the foolishness. We've got to play better at one specific position. That's it."

Isaac Wilson started ahead of Julian Lewis against the Red Raiders. He went 26-of-44 for 290 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. His last pick was the most memorable play of the game as the pass didn't even make it out of the end zone before it was intercepted by Tech linebacker John Curry.

Lewis was supposed to be the successor to Shedeur Sanders last year. A 4-star recruit coming out of high school, he had the kind of profile that's coveted by college coaches.

Instead, the sophomore has thrown for 1,322 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in eight appearances.

On Saturday, Sanders pushed back on the notion he "benched" Lewis and suggested there's more to the story:

A lot of 4- and even 5-star quarterbacks in a given class fail to deliver, but it's fair to say Sanders haven't done a great job at developing Lewis. Wilson, who transferred in from Utah, hasn't fared any better, and leaning on an experienced hand in Kaidon Salter — 25 starts at Liberty between 2023 and 2024 — didn't work last year.

It's true Colorado won't go very far without improvements from its quarterbacks. The Buffs rank 101st in passer rating (128.1).

Having the same problem arise for the second straight season is partially a reflection of Sanders and his staff, though. They're failing to identify the right targets in the portal or not putting their signal-callers in a position to succeed, and it might be a combination of the two.