Another week, another frustrating loss for Colorado. The Buffaloes continue to get off to strong starts, but fall apart as the games go along.
Against TCU, Colorado jumped off to a 14-0 lead. They were controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The offense line was getting a push, and the Colorado defense was flying around, making plays.
But a 14-0 lead turned into a 14-14 tie at halftime, thanks in part to three first-half interceptions by Kaidon Salter. The second half was the same old story: Colorado didn't execute down the stretch, and its opponent did. In a tie game in the fourth quarter, Colorado made a critical mistake.
TCU punted the ball, and it hit a Colorado player in the back on the way down. TCU recovered and ultimately scored the go-ahead touchdown.
Coach Prime called it a "freshman mistake" by returner Quentin Gibson, who, in Sanders' mind, should have run up, gotten everyone out of the way, and made a fair catch. It was just another in a long line of late-game mistakes that have proven costly for a team whose season is now on the brink.
The losses are piling up, and Coach Prime is visibly frustrated.
"It's frustrating because I am seeing what you see," Sanders said. "This is no disrespect to TCU. They were well coached, their quarterback made plays, but I felt like we were the better team. I felt like that last week. But we are still in this situation."
Colorado let another game slip through its fingers against TCU
Falling to 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big 12 has put Colorado's season on the brink. Big 12 title dreams were long dead, but now it's looking increasingly unlikely that the Buffs are even going to be able to reach bowl eligibility. They'll need to go 4-2 down the stretch with a schedule that still features ranked opponents in Iowa State and Arizona State, along with road trips to Utah and Kansas State.
Colorado isn't a bad football team. It is close to getting it done, but they continue to struggle in close games. They came up short in the season opener against Georgia Tech, blowing far too many first-half opportunities in a seven-point loss. That defeat set off a chain reaction that has followed Colorado around all year.
They got their butts whipped by Houston, but have broken out to 14-0 leads the last two weeks, only to blow games against BYU and TCU.
It's frustrating for the coaching staff, players, and fans. And unfortunately, Colorado is running out of time to get things fixed.
"I tell them every week, you are going to have a moment to change the outcome of this game, and you have to maximize your moments," Sanders said. "That's the way you elevate to the next level, that's the way you go pro, that's the way you become the person you aim to be, is when we capitalize on those moments. But we're not."