The Colorado Buffaloes struggled immensely without their two-way dynamo Travis Hunter at Oregon, as the Buffs lost 42-6 to the Ducks.
Now, Hunter plans to do something about it. His first step? Getting his head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, to read off a fiery text from the player to his team Monday.
Deion Sanders Reacts to Message From Travis Hunter
“I need to play this week. We need to get everything we can to get back on the field,” Sanders read.
Then came the final ultimatum.
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Sanders shared with his players.
“I need to play this week… I’m not taking no for an answer.”
– Travis Hunter to Coach Prime
(Via @DeionSandersJr/@WellOffForever) pic.twitter.com/5sAbWaFFPk
— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) September 25, 2023
Sanders read off that text as part of a quiz and asked the team to guess who sent him the message. The players immediately knew who it was.
But will Sanders allow his explosive wide receiver and defensive back to play after dealing with a lacerated liver from his late hit against Colorado State? Sanders read off his message.
“No, you ain’t ready, and I care about you more than I care about this game,” Sanders read off. “You’re going to change the game of football one day when you’re ready. Your future is brighter than mine ever was.”
His final message to Hunter was: “Relax and get healthy. I love you son.”
Then he looked up after relaxing his right hand with the phone and told his players “I care about you more than I care about this game. But I want you to learn throughout this game, through your trials and tribulations, of who you are.”
Shedeur Sanders Sounds Off On Not Having Hunter Against Oregon
Meanwhile, “Coach Prime” wasn’t the only member of the Sanders household who faced criticism after the rout at the hands of Oregon.
His quarterback son, Shedeur Sanders, also faced a heavy amount of critique. He ended up settling for just 159 passing yards and a bruising afternoon of seven sacks.
He was without Hunter to throw to and bail him out. Per Yahoo Sports CFB reporter, Ross Dellenger, Sanders denied that not having Hunter affected the Colorado.
“That’s not the reason we didn’t win,” Sanders said.
Colorado Looks Ahead to USC
Now, the 3-1 Buffs are still expected to draw a massive crowd at Folsom Field, as USC comes to town.
In tow is Heisman-winning QB Caleb Williams, high-powered true freshman WR Zachariah Branch, and a Trojans team that’s entering Boulder ranked eighth in the nation.
USC, however, had its struggles on defense against an Arizona State team also going through a coaching change. Despite winning 42-28 in Tempe, ASU tallied 353 total yards and had a better time of possession than the Trojans. The Sun Devils even out-performed USC in third and fourth down conversions, as USC went 3-of-10 on thirds, while Arizona State went 6-of-16. In addition, ASU made three first downs when facing a fourth-down situation.
The Trojans had difficulty putting a cap on the versatility of ASU RB Cameron Skattebo. The Sacramento State transfer combined for 190 total yards of offense and scored twice.
USC, however, is currently a 27.5-point favorite to beat the Buffaloes on Saturday.