Deion Sanders tunes out detractors and turns the page on Colorado's lopsided loss to Oregon

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders delivered some hard truth to his team this week while tuning out his detractors.

To his team, the Colorado coach preached that knowing the truth behind why they were dismantled 42-6 by No. 9 Oregon last weekend — and watching the cringe-worthy film over and over — “shall set you free.”

To his detractors, he made sure they knew his first defeat at Colorado hasn’t diminished his swagger. Not in any way.

In truth, it’s only emboldened him and his Buffaloes (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) as they get ready to host No. 8 Southern California (4-0, 2-0) this weekend in another sellout at Folsom Field.

Go ahead, Sanders shrugged, keep doubting. He doesn't care.

"When I came out of the womb, I was booed,” Sanders cracked at his weekly news conference Tuesday. “I don’t take my time to respond and to defend myself. Why would I do that? I’m giving you a microphone if I’m doing it. I’m giving you solace that you’re in my life. I don’t care. I really don’t.

“I’m not new to this, I’m true to this and I keep going.”

He takes pride in the fact the Buffaloes have raced out to three wins — the preseason projections had them at 3 1/2 — and have emerged as the epicenter of college football. Fox's “Big Noon Kickoff” will show up in Boulder on Saturday for a third time this season.

“To be 3-1 and not satisfied — don’t that say a lot about this program?” said Sanders, whose team is a 21 1/2-point underdog to the Trojans. “You’re 3-1 and you’re not satisfied and you know you can do better. So I’m happy with that understanding and that change of the thought process of this program. I love where we’re headed.”

Sanders had a heart-to-heart with his team, where they settled on the mantra for the week: "The truth shall set you free.”

In plain truth, the loss was ugly, with Oregon's offense outgaining Colorado by a 522-199 margin. The Ducks had a stretch where they scored TDs on six of seven drives. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders and the offense had a streak where they punted on eight straight drives (not counting the kneel-down before halftime).

It was part of an ugly weekend of football in the Centennial State (though Air Force and Colorado State both won). The Denver Broncos were trounced 70-20 in Miami and only coach Mike McDaniel's decision not to tack on a chip-shot field goal in the final minute kept the Dolphins from breaking the 72-point regular-season record set by Washington in 1966.

Just don't pile on Payton — not in front of Sanders, anyway.

“Leave my guy alone,” Sanders said. “He’s going to get it right.”

The film made it all too obvious where it went sideways for the Buffaloes. It also showed how it can be fixed before they face a Trojans team led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

“The film don’t lie,” linebacker Juwan Mitchell said. “You’ve got to be able to be a man and accept what you put on film and go in and correct it.”

On defense, it's all about stopping Williams, who’s thrown 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions so far. That's a task made all the more difficult with two-way star Travis Hunter sidelined with a lacerated liver. Sanders actually read a text to his team sent from Hunter: “I need to play this week. ... I'm not taking no for an answer.”

Sanders, though, shut that down with a text of his own: “No, you ain't ready and I care about you more than I care about this game. You're going to change the game of football one day when you're healthy and ready. Your future is brighter than mine ever will be and was."

Compounding Hunter's absence is the uncertain status of safety Shilo Sanders, who made a hospital visit to get checked out following the game.

“He’s doing much better,” Sanders said. “I’m praying that he can play as a father as well as a coach."

On offense, it's all about protecting Shedeur Sanders, who’s been sacked 22 times and hit many more. The Buffaloes are also averaging an FBS-low 1.91 yards rushing per attempt.

Any thoughts of more commitment to the run game?

“That’s just like asking your wife, ’Are you committed to a good meal every night,' if she can’t cook,” Sanders said. “We've got to be able to cook the running game before we commit to it.”

For that analogy, he gave himself props: "That was good,” he said. “That was spontaneous, too.”

Just like his detractors piling on after his first loss.

“It’s about us. It’s not about them,” Sanders said. “Everywhere we go, even in your darn families, you’re going to have detractors. You will have naysayers. You’re gonna have doubters.

"It’s up to you to keep going. I don’t stop. I keep going. I don’t have stop in me.”

Tackling remains touchy issue for No. 8 USC after struggling in road opener

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s defensive performance in a 42-28 win at Arizona State on Saturday brought back a lot of the concerns about the unit from last season.

There was sloppy tackling and a lack of situational awareness on critical plays. There was fourth-quarter yardage allowed, 125 yards worth this time. And there was a general sense that if not for some timely takeaways and sacks, plus the Caleb Williams-led offense there to help out, things could have been a whole lot worse for the eighth-ranked Trojans.

“I think there’s always concerns,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said Tuesday. “There’s concerns when the scoreboard says 28 at the end of the game, and that’s no disrespect to the opponent.”

But Grinch and his players believe USC (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) is in a much better place than it was a year ago when the defense eventually buckled in the conference championship game with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.

“Percentage-wise, again, I would say the needle is pointing in a positive direction,” Grinch said. “But that doesn’t get it done in those moments.”

The most glaring example came on Sun Devils running back Cameron Skattebo’s 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown on fourth-and-7 shy of midfield halfway through the fourth quarter.

Linebacker Eric Gentry made a lunging attempt to stop the pass into the flat short of the sticks, only for Skattebo to step out of his tackle.

Safety Max Williams came in trying to limit the damage to a first down but didn’t wrap up, allowing Skattebo to bowl over him before covering the final 38 yards.

“The nice thing is the video shows all that stuff,” Grinch said. “The problem is you don’t get redos. So the big thing is those are very specific plays.”

Fortunately for USC, Williams led a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to restore a 14-point lead and put down any lingering threat from Arizona State.

Grinch sees the defense as greatly improved at tackling compared to a year ago, but he understands that a play like Skattebo’s score overshadows all the others where the stop was made.

“I think it’s a skill in football that you’re constantly working on. The message is to make it,” Grinch said.

“It’s always a one week evaluation. It’s a one play evaluation. Series, drive, half, and ultimately game. So it’s constantly working on that,” he added.

That skill will be tested at Colorado (3-1, 0-1) by a slippery spread passing offense that has punished poor tackling.

Gentry said the push for consistency remains an ongoing emphasis before USC hits the crux of its schedule.

“Just tackling,” Gentry said. “Tackling, tackling, tackling. Just wrapping up. Really, just like we have a series where we tackle good, then we have a series where it might be inconsistent, so just constant tackling.”

But much like last season, those issues could ruin all the defense’s good work in a crucial game. It might not matter that a reloaded front is tied for third in the FBS with 16 sacks, eight of which came against Arizona State, or the group as a whole is significantly better on third down and at stopping the run.

Defensive end Jamil Muhammad expects USC to take its close call to heart.

“I guess you can say the constant adversity that we faced in the Arizona State game, a lot of it was self-inflicted, just us not really being as focused as we should have been,” Muhammad said. “It definitely will serve a good purpose moving forward. Obviously, we learn from it, but I’m excited to see how we respond to it.”