Deion Sanders knows Buffaloes can't afford to be second half team

Coach Prime expected to see a different game plan this week against ASU

The Colorado Buffaloes fell short of pulling off a miraculous second half comeback against the USC Trojans last weekend. It got interesting when Shedeur Sanders got hot and starting distributing the ball all over the field. But the Buffs QB or his teammates aren't putting much thought behind another late rally, especially when it comes with a loss. 

"We were all just taking it in stride," Buffaloes linebacker Jordan Domineck said on BuffsBeat Weekly about the first half vs. USC. "This wasn't out half, but we still had faith. We know what we can do." 

"Once we got into the locker room, Coach Prime stepped up onto the middle of the stage and he just basically reiterated that to us. Like hey, "This ain't on me. It's on y'all. You have to motivate me in this game." 

Colorado entered halftime down 20 points before putting significant pressure on Heisman front-runner Caleb Williams. The Buffs defense found a way to force errors. However, the game was too far gone with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter. Being able to play in all phases was an emphasis this week for Deion Sanders. 

"We need to have that entire mentality throughout the game," Domineck said. "We don't need to go out there and go do twenty, thirty points in the first half. That's not how we need to keep playing. We need to start fast and play physical. That's been an emphasis for us this week."    

Colorado had late-game heroics against TCU and CSU with both contests resulting in wins. A great display of athleticism and will from the Buffs when it mattered, but too close for comfort. To say Colorado is a second half team is an understatement. They've outscored opponents after the half in a majority of games by a margin of 113-77. 

The Buffs travel to Tempe to face the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET with coverage on the Pac-12 Network.