Colorado is dealing with distractions as it prepares for its Big 12 Conference opener at Baylor on Saturday.
Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders dismissed multiple players after last Saturday’s 41-7 loss at Northwestern. He said the moves were not solely performance-related.
Instead, it was due to behavior that was detrimental to the team.
“Those guys can tell you, I’m the most loving and giving and forgiving man you could ever meet,” Sanders told reporters. “But when you start being conduct detrimental to the team, that will set us back. Things that you’re doing that you don’t care about the team — you care about you. I have a problem with that.”
During his weekly show, Sanders provided more insight on his reasoning.
“People made a big deal out of last week about us getting rid of a few kids. But it wasn’t a team thing. It was just a few knuckleheads,” Sanders said. “Every occupation we have, (there’s) a few knuckleheads. Don’t think it was the team. No. It was a few knuckleheads that I didn’t want to poison the team.”
In addition, Colorado safety Ben Finneseth apologized for his comments about Northwestern’s temporary stadium along Lake Michigan that was playing host to its final football game. The school is slated to open a reimagined $862 million Ryan Stadium on Oct. 2 against Penn State.
In a video, Finneseth said the temporary stadium “f—ing sucks” and “sounds like a library.”
Finneseth’s apology came at a press conference with Sanders at his side.
“It was childish; it was a stupid thing that I said. It won’t happen again,” Finneseth said. “The way I handled it was horrible. I promise you guys it will not happen again and it’ll be much more mature moving forward.”
The Buffaloes are 2-1 entering Big 12 play. They posted wins over Georgia Tech and Weber State before being clobbered by Northwestern.