Colorado frequently comes up with new and unique ways to lose football games. In the final game at Folsom Field for the 2025 season (mercifully), the Buffaloes had every opportunity to come away with a win over No. 25 Arizona State. The Sun Devils were sloppy, turning the ball over four times.
Colorado had four separate possessions that began in Arizona State territory on Saturday night. The Buffs managed three total points off those possessions.
No sequence better represents the season it has been in Boulder than back-to-back plays in the 4th quarter against Arizona State. Whether it's poor play on the field or sloppy coaching, Colorado has frequently put itself in adverse situations.
Trailing only 21-17 early in the 4th quarter, a big catch-and-run by Joseph Williams set the Buffaloes up near the redzone. Inexplicably, Deion Sanders and the coaching staff thought that was the perfect opportunity to put the ball in the hands of sophomore Ronald Coleman, who had not touched the football one single time all season.
Coleman took a handoff, made a nice run, and then promptly fumbled the football inside the Arizona State 20 with the Sun Devils recovering. One play later, Arizona State's Raleek Brown busted through the Buffaloes' defense for an 88-yard touchdown run to put Colorado in a two-score hole.
Both Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch had been running the ball effectively. Dre'lon Miller had provided some relief with a few carries himself. And yet, in one of the most pivotal snaps of the game, the Colorado coaching staff put the ball in the hands of a player who hadn't seen it all season long.
It's another mind-blowing gaffe by this coaching staff that can't be easily explained away.
Deion Sanders will once again face uncomfortable questions following odd in-game decision
Who knows who made the decision for Coleman to come into the game in that situation. Maybe it was Coach Prime. Maybe it was Marshall Faulk. In any case, it was a baffling decision that completely swung the game back in Arizona State's favor.
Instead of having the opportunity to take the lead, in a flash, Colorado found itself down two scores as Brown raced toward the endzone, piling yards onto what had already been a strong day for the Sun Devils RB.
Coleman is undoubtedly a good kid and practices hard. Perhaps the coaching staff felt he had earned an opportunity to play in this game. But that just wasn't the situation for it. In a pivotal moment, the ball has to be in the hands of your best players. Not a wide receiver who hadn't touched the football all season long.
That sequence proved to be the tipping point for Colorado. The Buffs were competitive for most of the night, but that turnover followed by a quick touchdown was the knockout blow in Colorado's eighth loss of the season.