Cover Photo: Ben Queen/USA Today
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — West Virginia walked off the field Saturday with a 29–22 victory over Colorado, but the postgame headlines weren’t about the Mountaineers keeping their bowl hopes alive. Instead, they centered around one man: Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, who continued to downplay West Virginia’s performance, even after his team’s loss in Morgantown.
Sanders first sparked controversy at halftime, when Colorado trailed 19–9. With cameras rolling, he told reporters:
“Collectively, there is no way West Virginia is a better team than Colorado.”
Deion Sanders: “Collectively, there is no way West Virginia is a better team than Colorado.” pic.twitter.com/EiaoSrfeHO
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) November 8, 2025
Those comments already rubbed plenty of WVU fans, players, and coaches the wrong way. But after the game, rather than giving credit to the team that just beat him, Sanders doubled down.
Following the loss—Colorado’s third straight—Sanders continued to insist that his team is superior to West Virginia:
“This is not who we are. We’re better than this, and they deserve better than this. I want better than this. I feel like I coach better than this. I feel like we got players that are so much better than what the production is that we’re putting out.”
He went on to say:
“So then, you got to identify the coaches, that’s us, and that starts with me, because I feel like we got the nucleus inside the locker room that we should be getting it done.”
And then came the line that sent the message loud and clear:
“I don’t think we played a team that’s this athletically and physically better than us. I really don’t, and I’ll stand on that.”
While some may defend Sanders’ comments as confidence or simply “Coach Prime being Coach Prime,” many see it differently. West Virginia’s players earned that victory. They led wire-to-wire, outworked Colorado in the trenches, and made the crucial plays when it mattered.
To dismiss them as inferior—right after they beat you on your home field—is more than just swagger. It’s a slap in the face to the players who executed, to the coaches who prepared them, and to a program that has now won two straight games.
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez took the opposite tone after the game. Battling through a cough, he praised his team’s focus and resilience:
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“Really proud of the guys to pull out a win.”
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“I’m not going to apologize for any win at this point.”
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“Believe it or not, we still got a chance to go to a bowl game.”
No excuses. No disrespect. Just accountability and appreciation for effort.
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Colorado has now lost three straight games.
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They now sit below .500 with dwindling bowl chances.
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West Virginia outplayed them for four quarters and is now 4–6, needing two wins for bowl eligibility.
Sanders can believe Colorado is better all he wants. But the scoreboard, the standings, and the film say otherwise. West Virginia earned that win. And they deserve to be treated like it.
