Colorado head coach Deion Sanders maintained his faith-centric outlook on football after a blowout loss to Oregon Saturday, praising God in a postgame news conference and continuing that approach on social media, where he said he thanks Jesus, win or lose.
Oregon dominated the Buffaloes, racing out to a 35-0 halftime lead en route to a 42-6 victory. It was the first loss of the season for Colorado, which had surprised the college football world by starting 3-0 on the shoulders of a high-scoring offense. Colorado finished 1-11 in 2022 before hiring Sanders, who formerly coached at Jackson State (Miss.).
Better known as “Coach Prime” due to his nickname in college and pro sports, Sanders has made his Christian faith a major part of his public profile.
“First and foremost, I thank the Lord,” Sanders said at the beginning of a post-game news conference in which he credited Oregon. “It was a good old-fashioned butt-kicking. No excuses. [Oregon] coaches did a heck of a job preparing their team. Obviously, we didn’t. … We lost offensively, defensively as well as special teams.”
Sanders, though, said he wants his players to remain positive.
“This is the kind of opportunity you have as a coach, as a man, as a father to lift them up – not just shoot them down, you’ve got to lift them up,” he said.
On social media, Sanders also maintained his upbeat attitude, writing on Instagram after the game, “Lord we thank u thru it all. We praise u consistently because u deserve all the praise. We love you & magnify u WIN OR LOSS. We do that because with u there is no loss. Thank you Jesus.”
Sanders played college football and baseball at Florida State University and then in the National Football League and in Major League Baseball before working as a football analyst on television.
Last week, he told his fans on X (formerly Twitter) that he won’t stop discussing his faith. The post received 1.8 million views.
“JESUS! I had to say that to make Demons tremble and haters agitated,” Sanders wrote. “JESUS IS MY LORD & SAVIOR so get use to me proclaiming his name daily. God bless u now please have a blessed day because I am. #CoachPrime.”
JESUS! I had to say that to make Demons tremble and haters agitated. JESUS IS MY LORD & SAVIOR so get use to me proclaiming his name daily. God bless u now please have a blessed day because I am. #CoachPrime
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) September 19, 2023
Colorado hosts No. 8 USC and defending Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams Saturday.
Related:
‘Thank You Jesus’: Colorado’s Deion Sanders Keeps Faith at Core after Stunning Win
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ron Jenkins / Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
