Warren Sapp continues odd pregame ritual with Deion Sanders saving him in Utah

Contributor
Jeff Hauser
Warren Sapp continues odd pregame ritual with Deion Sanders saving him in Utah image

The Colorado Buffaloes couldn't leave Salt Lake City fast enough on Saturday night. A statement win for the Utah Utes was also the worst defeat in Deion Sanders tenure. The 53-7 final score was not only an eye sore for the Buffs, but felt like a gut punch after the bye week. 

Colorado had negative 18 yards in the first half and finished with 140 total yards on offense.  "This is probably the worst beating I've ever had," Sanders said after the game. Utah, led by defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, was able to get after Kaidon Salter and the Buffs offense at-will. The Utes sacked CU's signal-caller seven times with backup Ryan Staub finishing the game with 65 yards passing and a rushing score. They also racked up 13 tackles for loss during the 46-point win. 

For all the attention on the historically bad game for Coach Prime, there was one detail in pregame warm-ups that caught the attention of a few. Colorado assistant coach Warren Sapp went through his normal motions of kicking over pylons in the end zone. Not sure why this is his ritual, but instead of leaving them down, Sanders went around and promptly fixed them. The moment was caught by CBS Colorado's Romi Bean before the blowout. 

Was this due to a threat of being fined by the Big 12? That's a possibility.

Colorado was fined $50,000 for fans' anti-Mormon chants during the BYU game eariler this season and caught a break when they stormed the field after a win over Iowa State.     

One thing is clear, Sanders and the Buffs wanted no smoke while in Utah. Colorado dropped to 3-5 on the season, and allowed an opponent over 50 points for the first time under Coach Prime. Not a good sign for the Hall-of-Famer as he continues to find a spark on either side of the ball. 

Colorado returns home to face Arizona on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, FS1). 

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