Coach Prime Weekly Press Conference: Utah
October 13, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders opened his weekly news conference Tuesday with a scouting report that doubled as a warning.
Utah, which visits Folsom Field on Saturday for Family Weekend, arrives unbeaten under first-year head coach Morgan Scalley, who replaced Kyle Whittingham after two decades on the Utes' staff.
"He's replacing a legend, man," Coach Prime said. "That's not easy, and he hasn't missed a beat."
What he sees on film is a team feeding off itself on both sides of the ball.
"Because they're scoring points offensively, the defense are pinning their ears back," Coach Prime said. "They're going at you. They're blitzing. They're coming from north, south, east and west, and they're really a darn good football team. Probably the best team we're going to face this season."
Isaac starts, and the run game leads
There was no suspense about the quarterback. Asked whether he had settled on a starter, Coach Prime cut the question off.
"You know darn well who starts," he said. "Isaac starts. You guys know Isaac starts."
Isaac Wilson, who began his career at Utah, will face his former program for the first time, and Coach Prime said the week has looked like every other one for him.
"Isaac is always up to the task," he said. "This ain't no different week for Isaac. He don't flinch. He don't place blame. He is what he is."
The plan around him starts on the ground. Coach Prime said he wants the Buffaloes in the range of 17 to 24 pass attempts, not 40, and pointed to the running attack Colorado featured in the first three weeks.
"We can run the ball," he said. "We've proven that. We got to rely on that. Our linemen have taken on that responsibility to work their butts off this week so they could get back to that first- and second-week type of running attack that we featured."
He also shut the door on a midseason change at play-caller, something he has done before in Boulder.
"No, we good," Coach Prime said. "This is a whole different circumstance. Why wouldn't I believe in Brennan? I believe in him. I could hear the play going in, and I know what's supposed to happen, and sometimes when it's not executed, I know where it comes from."
Finishing on defense
A defense that leads the Big 12 in tackles for loss has not been the problem, but Coach Prime said its late-game lapses have made close games look like something else.
"Unless you watched the game, you wouldn't have been able to tell this was a close game until seven minutes was left on the clock," he said. "You give up an explosion, and they run, and they run again and get a touchdown. Now the game doesn't look like it was a contest, but really it was. We got to stop that."
The other fix is discipline. He said the staff has spoken directly with the players responsible for the penalties that have extended opponents' drives.
"We got to stop the mindless penalties," Coach Prime said. "Especially when we're off the field on third down and we give them extra opportunities. We can't do that."
Asked whether forcing turnovers is the next step for a unit he has praised, he tied that to the scoreboard. A defense playing with a lead can afford to be opportunistic, he said; one playing every snap as if the game hangs on it cannot.
"We just got to score more," he said, "and you're going to see a lot more aggression. I promise you."
Majoring on the majors
Coach Prime spent part of the bye week on situational football and special teams, walking through substitution scenarios most people never think about, like making sure two players wearing the same number are never on the field together.
He pushed back on the idea that the unit needs an overhaul, saying the issues against Texas Tech were individual mistakes that have already been addressed.
"That's just a fix in personnel," he said. "It's not schematic. I don't major on the minors. I try to major on the majors."
Danny Scudero remains a question for Saturday. Coach Prime said the receiver has "worked his butt off to get back" but that it was still early in the week to know.
Students of the week
Coach Prime named Wilson, Vili Taufatofua and Charlie Williams his students of the week, and noted Joseph Williams' addition to the Biletnikoff Award watch list and Santana Hopper's performance against Texas Tech, which he challenged Hopper to repeat "again and again and again."
Asked by a fan how he defines success, he started where he always starts.
"I want to win," Coach Prime said. "That's number one. I want these guys to get better every game. I want these guys to elevate personally, understand life financially, and just understand what the challenges are of life — being a man. To everybody else, it should be all about football, but to me, it's all about building these men up."
Colorado and Utah kick off Saturday at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Watch the Press Conference
Utah, which visits Folsom Field on Saturday for Family Weekend, arrives unbeaten under first-year head coach Morgan Scalley, who replaced Kyle Whittingham after two decades on the Utes' staff.
"He's replacing a legend, man," Coach Prime said. "That's not easy, and he hasn't missed a beat."
What he sees on film is a team feeding off itself on both sides of the ball.
"Because they're scoring points offensively, the defense are pinning their ears back," Coach Prime said. "They're going at you. They're blitzing. They're coming from north, south, east and west, and they're really a darn good football team. Probably the best team we're going to face this season."
Isaac starts, and the run game leads
There was no suspense about the quarterback. Asked whether he had settled on a starter, Coach Prime cut the question off.
"You know darn well who starts," he said. "Isaac starts. You guys know Isaac starts."
Isaac Wilson, who began his career at Utah, will face his former program for the first time, and Coach Prime said the week has looked like every other one for him.
"Isaac is always up to the task," he said. "This ain't no different week for Isaac. He don't flinch. He don't place blame. He is what he is."
The plan around him starts on the ground. Coach Prime said he wants the Buffaloes in the range of 17 to 24 pass attempts, not 40, and pointed to the running attack Colorado featured in the first three weeks.
"We can run the ball," he said. "We've proven that. We got to rely on that. Our linemen have taken on that responsibility to work their butts off this week so they could get back to that first- and second-week type of running attack that we featured."
He also shut the door on a midseason change at play-caller, something he has done before in Boulder.
"No, we good," Coach Prime said. "This is a whole different circumstance. Why wouldn't I believe in Brennan? I believe in him. I could hear the play going in, and I know what's supposed to happen, and sometimes when it's not executed, I know where it comes from."
Finishing on defense
A defense that leads the Big 12 in tackles for loss has not been the problem, but Coach Prime said its late-game lapses have made close games look like something else.
"Unless you watched the game, you wouldn't have been able to tell this was a close game until seven minutes was left on the clock," he said. "You give up an explosion, and they run, and they run again and get a touchdown. Now the game doesn't look like it was a contest, but really it was. We got to stop that."
The other fix is discipline. He said the staff has spoken directly with the players responsible for the penalties that have extended opponents' drives.
"We got to stop the mindless penalties," Coach Prime said. "Especially when we're off the field on third down and we give them extra opportunities. We can't do that."
Asked whether forcing turnovers is the next step for a unit he has praised, he tied that to the scoreboard. A defense playing with a lead can afford to be opportunistic, he said; one playing every snap as if the game hangs on it cannot.
"We just got to score more," he said, "and you're going to see a lot more aggression. I promise you."
Majoring on the majors
Coach Prime spent part of the bye week on situational football and special teams, walking through substitution scenarios most people never think about, like making sure two players wearing the same number are never on the field together.
He pushed back on the idea that the unit needs an overhaul, saying the issues against Texas Tech were individual mistakes that have already been addressed.
"That's just a fix in personnel," he said. "It's not schematic. I don't major on the minors. I try to major on the majors."
Danny Scudero remains a question for Saturday. Coach Prime said the receiver has "worked his butt off to get back" but that it was still early in the week to know.
Students of the week
Coach Prime named Wilson, Vili Taufatofua and Charlie Williams his students of the week, and noted Joseph Williams' addition to the Biletnikoff Award watch list and Santana Hopper's performance against Texas Tech, which he challenged Hopper to repeat "again and again and again."
Asked by a fan how he defines success, he started where he always starts.
"I want to win," Coach Prime said. "That's number one. I want these guys to get better every game. I want these guys to elevate personally, understand life financially, and just understand what the challenges are of life — being a man. To everybody else, it should be all about football, but to me, it's all about building these men up."
Colorado and Utah kick off Saturday at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Watch the Press Conference
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballMonday, October 12
Monday, October 12
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Sunday, October 04
