Colorado State star QB and WR challenge Deion Sanders, Colorado ahead of rivalry game

Colorado State is preparing for this year's game against Colorado similarly to last year's game – with more rivalry trash talk against Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders' team.

Starting quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and wide receiver Tory Horton called out Sanders and Colorado ahead of Saturday's game against their same-state rivals. The former pointed to the hype the then-Buffaloes had around their program after starting 2-0 with convincing wins over TCU and Nebraska. Colorado was a three-touchdown favorite but needed double overtime to beat the Rams in Boulder.

“They came in with that mindset and thought it was going to be a breeze,” Fowler-Nicolosi told CBS Colorado about the 2023 Colorado State-Colorado game. “They got a rude awakening very quickly. I think it shows that the hype, the media hype and all that only takes you so far. At the end of the day, you've got to put 11 guys against our 11 guys and we'll find out who wants it more.”

“We’ll see how far they get with Instagram followers.”

Colorado's win over Colorado State improved its record to 3-0, but the close game against an opponent many underdogs thought they would dominate ultimately served as a warning of things to come, as the Buffaloes lost at Oregon the following week to finish the season 1-8. Horton, however, believed Colorado State should have ended the hype surrounding Colorado in the final game of the season.

“We owe them. That's been on our minds since we came back from the break. We owe them,” Horton told CBS Colorado. “I don't think we left it all on the field because we should have killed those guys. They came in with that mindset like they were on top of the world. This is not a Cinderella story.”

Colorado State had put a 18th-ranked Colorado team under pressure in the previous game, and the Rams took a 28-17 lead with 11 minutes left in regulation. Up by eight points with just over two minutes left, they gave the ball back to the Buffaloes and pinned Colorado at their own 2-yard line after a punt. However, quarterback Shedeur Sanders led Colorado on a seven-play, 98-yard touchdown drive to tie the game with 36 seconds left.

Shedeur Sanders stretches out an opponent with his arm outstretched during Colorado's win over Colorado State last year. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The end of last year's game was eventful, but the final minutes were filled with even more drama. Before the game, Colorado State coach Jay Norvell reprimanded Deion Sanders for his attire.

“When I talk to adults, I take off my hat and glasses,” Norvell said before the 2023 game. “That's what my mother taught me.”

After Norvell's comment, Sanders said Colorado State made the game “personal.” Sanders also said he was a “grown man” before handing out his players their own sunglasses, which he wears on the sidelines.

As the coaches shook hands after the game, Norvell Sanders said he wasn't referring to his family with that pregame quote.

“Oh, you were talking about my mom,” Sanders replied, which was recorded by cameras on Amazon's “Coach Prime.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Norvell said.

“Yes, you were. You were. You were,” Sanders said as the two coaches walked away.

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell during last season's loss to Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

This matchup also featured some drama on the field. Two-time Colorado star Travis Hunter suffered a liver laceration in the third quarter after a late hit from Colorado State defender Henry Blackburn, which resulted in a penalty. Hunter missed the rest of the game and the following three games for Colorado. However, he reconciled with Blackburn after the Colorado State defender received death threats and filmed a YouTube video together at a bowling alley to raise money for charity.

Although Hunter and Blackburn got along well after last season's clash, it's hard to say many other players on either side have similar feelings about their rival. Horton, who caught 16 passes for 133 yards in the 2023 clash and is questionable for Saturday's game with a groin injury, hopes Colorado State can contain the hype surrounding Colorado this year.

“The millions of followers and fans that they've generated and gained, and the celebrities that have jumped on their side because Deion Sanders is who he is,” Horton told CBS News Colorado. “At the end of the day, Deion Sanders isn't playing. It's these players that are playing. So these players better back up what they're talking about.”

Colorado enters Saturday's game in Fort Collins with a 1-1 record after losing 28-10 on the road to Nebraska last week. Colorado State is also 1-1 and defeated Northern Colorado after suffering a crushing loss to Texas.

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