Colorado football coach Deion Sanders caught a turtle while fishing in Texas and also visited Estes Park, Colorado, last week to see elk. But now it’s back to work for the Buffaloes after a bye weekend last week.
Sanders’ team is 3-4 with a game coming up at Utah on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:15 p.m. ET. A little time away still seemed to boost his mood Tuesday at his weekly news conference in Boulder. He discussed his encounters with wildlife in two states.
“I went to Texas,” Sanders said of his bye week. “I enjoyed myself. Fished like crazy. I caught a turtle one time about a foot. I don’t know how that happened. But he’s no longer with us. It was a big turtle. He’s no longer with us.”
Deion Sanders visited Estes Park
Sanders also visited Estes Park last week, about 37 miles northwest of Boulder. But he said he couldn’t shop there because he feared he’d attract a crowd.
“You know, I couldn’t get out of the car because of, you know, the prominence that God afforded me, because I want to get out and walk the streets and, you know, do a little Estes shopping,” Sanders said. “But I’ve seen all the, you know, what you call those big things? The moose, elks? What’s an elk? What’s a moose?”
When told a moose is bigger, Sanders indicated he was in surroundings he wasn’t familiar with and he didn’t want to create any national news on his visit.
“You gotta, you know, I’m Black, okay?” Sanders said. “I don’t know elk, moose, deer. Like, they all, like family to me. But I saw a lot of big animals around Estes, and I’m not used to that. So it was it was great. And some deer tried to cut across the front of the car and (I) definitely wasn’t going to hit them. You know, this is all I needed, a brother hitting a deer in Estes. Hey, no, not gonna happen.”
Sanders, 58, also has snowmobiled in Colorado previously but appears to be hesitant about skiing.
“Those are things that Black folks don’t do,” Sanders said about skiing. “I went to the lift line and just to look. I didn’t see us represented there… Oh, Lord, help me today. I don’t know why I’m in a silly mood today.”
Now it gets serious again.
Deion Sanders has struggled in road night games
Colorado will face a Utes team that is 5-2 after suffering a 24-21 loss at BYU last week. Utah is a 13.5-point favorite over the Buffaloes, according to BetMGM. And it’s not exactly an ideal environment or matchup for Colorado, which is 0-6 at Utah since 2011.
The Buffs also have struggled in night games under Sanders. They are 6-11 in games starting at 7:30 p.m. ET or later since 2023, including 1-6 in those night games away from home.
To beat the Utes, Colorado will have to counter a Utah offense that ranks first nationally in third-down conversions (57.6%) and sixth nationally in rushing offense (245 yards per game). But starting quarterback Devon Dampier appeared to get injured last week against BYU, raising the possibility that freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin will play instead.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com