Keeler: CU Buffs’ 3-9 record proves Deion Sanders needs better coaches in his ear or another Shedeur on the field

Do timeouts make excellent stocking stuffers Because Deion Sanders is going back to Texas with two of them in his back pocket The best Christmas gift Coach Prime can give CU Buffs fans right now is a total overhaul Starting with the coaching staff Especially with the coaching staff The Buffs whose season ended with a scrappy - loss at Kansas State on Saturday afternoon badly need a game-manager Not just at QB At head coach Coach Prime would make a great NFL general manager He s a pretty solid college one already But as a game-day coach if taught us anything it s that more encouragement is needed Badly Under Sanders the Buffs are - in games decided by points or fewer He s now - in those games without Shedeur as his QB He s - at CU with someone other than his son as the starting signal-caller One hand the Buffs were in four one-score games this year On the other they lost three of them A starting NFL QB Shedeur a generational athlete Travis Hunter and a slew of pro-level targets LaJohntay Wester Will Sheppard can mask an awful lot of coaching blemishes Take that away though and you get well - And a second - league finish over the last three seasons The Big is a league of middleweights and fine margins Which means terms of talent personnel CU really isn t that far away It s just that when you fall just short week after week the mental stuff starts building in the back of your head the way tartar builds along the gum line The doubt creeps The questions linger Quarterback Kaidon Salter of the Colorado Buffaloes throws a pass against linebacker Asa Newsom of the Kansas State Wildcats in the first half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November in Manhattan Kansas Photo by Peter Aiken Getty Images CU had a plan for Kansas State - run Kaidon Salter in the snow and see if that unlocks anything The Buffs kept on the ground in miserable conditions over nine of their first plays Just like in the script In the fourth quarter of a competition they trailed - CU threw it nine times and ran it eight K-State meanwhile went into business mode just as Arizona State did at Folsom Field the weekend before Of the Wildcats rushing yards on the day came over the final stanza In the meantime though K-State tried to give CU the contest didn t they The Buffs just struggled to take it Just like they struggled to tackle Like they struggled get to get a field goal or a punt off in the snow globe that was Bill Snyder Family Stadium There will be a lot of soul-searching a lot of social posts a lot of hot takes as to what went wrong with Coach Prime s Year Landing a -star prep QB in Julian Lewis was the fun part but the next trick is emerging him While the in-game progress from April to November has been tangible and real the jury s still out When it was clear from the spring that more time was needed Salter became the bridge guy Only it turned out to bridge to nowhere This much is clear as day especially after K-State Whomever gets to run the offense in would be wise to feature more of junior wide receiver Omarion Miller who torched the Wildcats to the tune of seven catches for receiving yards despite swirling winds Miller through his first games had collected first downs on his first catches or one every grabs Point of comparison Last fall Travis Hunter had first downs on grabs one every receptions LaJohntay Wester on grabs a first down every Will Sheppard on grabs for a first down every catches Coach Prime looked miserable out there but his gang brought their snow pants early With nothing to play for but pride the Buffs came out in the spirit of what Sanders had promised in the summer angry on the ground relentless at the line of scrimmage Running back Micah Welch of the Colorado Buffaloes rushes for a touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats in the second half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November in Manhattan Kansas Photo by Peter Aiken Getty Images Over the first half the chuck-and-duck Buffs outrushed Kansas State - in the Wildcats backyard CU went into the break with more first downs converted - more total yards - and maybe more impressively having committed zero penalties to K-State s three Meanwhile a Wildcat company that ran for yards against Utah was stuck at on the ground halfway through the third stanza Alas with former Erie star Blake Barnett sprinkled in on designed QB runs to spell an inconsistent Avery Johnson the hosts salted a chilly challenge away on the ground late Once K-State wrestled back control of the clock the Buffs couldn t buy a stop Or a salve Coach Prime again needed another voice either a coach in his ear or a coach on the field the way Shedeur was for all those years In the end CU had two timeouts left over the final seconds down Sanders didn t use either Like most of CU fans he was ready to turn the page and go home The next chapter is the one that will define his legacy For better or for worse