Deion Sanders Jr. drops 1-word message as Colorado squad faces criticism for getting national TV slots

The Colorado Buffaloes under coach Deion Sanders clinched bowl-eligibility for the first time in eight years when they beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 34-23 in Week 9. The feat represents a turnaround in fortunes from last year's 4-8 finish after a promising start.

The Buffs have had their critics over the highly visible manner in which Coach Prime has run the program with a lot of fan and media attention, which has involved several nationally televised games despite not being part of the historically elite in college football.

Early in the season, after the Buffs had lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 2, there was increased attention on Colorado for its continued televised games, with some college football fans on X complaining about it.

Since then, Coach Prime's team has reeled off five wins, and the Buffs are still in contention for the Big 12 championship game. On Wednesday, Deion Sanders Jr., Coach Prime's eldest son, replied to a tweet from a fan criticizing the team for its "national TV slots" in September.

"Damn," Deion Sanders Jr. tweeted.

When Colorado coach blasted the media over Buffs' coverage

The first few weeks of the 2024 season were characterized by chaos for the Colorado Buffaloes, with different issues cropping up every week.

The first was a report by former players who had left the program via the transfer portal, which was followed by a Denver Post report that claimed Coach Prime had forbidden the band from playing the customary "fight song" in favor of his son, Shedeur Sanders' song, whenever the team scored a touchdown.

During a news conference after losing 28-10 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 2, the charismatic Coach Prime blasted the media for their coverage of the negative news around the Buffs.

"Whoever reported that I told the band not to play the fight song, that’s idiotic. Y’all know that," Sanders said. "Like when you saw that, you know that was a lie. We got to start having some kind of accountability to this.

"I understand that this is a free and an open world and that everybody is not a journalist. Everybody’s not an analyst, everybody’s really hadn’t put in a lot of work to do what you all do.

"I’m thankful for many of y’all that take your job and your craft serious. And consequently, you get facts before you run with false narratives," Sanders said.

Since the early season negative media buzz around Colorado, the noise has died down as the Buffs have mounted a commendable season, which has seen them contend with the best teams in the Big 12.