Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes’ (8-3) four-game win streak ended this past Saturday after suffering a defeat against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas.
The loss means that Colorado’s playoff chances no longer lie in its own hands but rather in the results of three matchups involving teams they’re tied with in conference play (6-2): Arizona State, BYU, and Iowa State. The Buffs need to win their Week 14 matchup against Oklahoma State and hope that two of the aforementioned teams lose theirs in order to make the Big 12 Championship.
However, not everyone is rooting for the team, including journalist Jason Whitlock.
Jason Whitlock Hopes for Deion Sanders’ Loss Against Oklahoma State
On Monday’s episode of “Fearless with Jason Whitlock,” the journalist fearlessly went against the former Dallas Cowboys star and his Buffaloes:
“They’ve (Kansas) just beat three straight ranked opponents. Iowa State, BYU, and now Colorado. Hats off, that’s the first time it’s happened in football history, but oh, it was so pleasurable for me to watch that. I’ve needed that.”
Deion Sanders has stuffed crow down my throat week-after-week. With the final game approaching, I now place my hope in Oklahoma State. I truly believe Mike Gundy is a superior coach to Deion Sanders. I think they can get it done. If not, I’m heading to Colorado’s bowl game. pic.twitter.com/bUVcaOPsAZ
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) November 25, 2024
Oklahoma State has had an underwhelming campaign this year and sits last in the Big 12 conference at 0-8. With an overall record of 3-8, after losing eight straight conference games, Whitlock is giving Mike Gundy’s team a chance in their final game of the regular season:
“Deion has stuffed crow down my throat week after week after week. … But now I have hope, and it’s in Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State, and this is why I’m not giving up.
“Mike Gundy is a better coach than Deion Sanders. He does not have the talent that Colorado has this year. The offensive line — a big step back from a year ago, but they’ve got a good running back, and they got a heck of a coach, and they got a chance because there’s no telling how Colorado will emotionally recover.
“Now that the shines been taken off, now that they’ve been exposed, now that everybody knows, ‘Hey, this ain’t no national title contender.’ This is a good team, taking advantage of a weak conference with poor quarterback play and somehow came up with a schedule with the three best teams: Arizona State, BYU, and Iowa State are not on their schedule.”
The right combination for Colorado to make the Big 12 Championship requires either BYU to lose to Houston in Week 14, Arizona State to lose to Arizona, or Iowa State to lose to Kansas State. If two of these three teams lose, the Buffs might have a chance.
According to College Football Network, Colorado has a 5.78% chance of making the playoffs, an 89.8% chance of winning against Oklahoma State, and a 64.1% chance of winning against Arizona State (which holds the tiebreaker over the top four teams) in the championship game.