Unc Shannon is dropping the game advice to the next generation of athletes. We’re all too familiar with that. HOFer Shannon Sharpe’s tenure as a member of the media may have been tumultuous. However, one thing has been constant- he has never backed down from showing some tough love. So after Shedeur Sanders had a fleeting lapse of judgment in the aftermath of the game on Saturday, Sharpe made sure he was vocal about his disdain.

The Colorado Buffaloes (8-3) hype train took a serious detour on Saturday. Their 21-37 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks (5-6) in Arrowhead leaves looming clouds over their CFP aspirations. Within the game were quite some facets worthy of conversation. None more so than one late in the 2nd half when Kansas DE Dean Miller was seeing red. As Shedeur tried to make a play out of the pocket, Miller made a late, vicious dive for his knees. Fortunately, Shedeur’s feet weren’t planted, and he avoided a catastrophe. Nevertheless, the two sets of players were later involved in a confrontation, during which Shedeur appeared to shove the referee.

During the latest iteration of Nightcap, Sharpe took an opportunity to speak directly to Shedeur regarding this brief, vulnerable moment, which could have massive repercussions on the next rung of the football ladder. “Just be careful bro, because at the [NFL] level you’re gonna get tossed. It’s really that simple. You’re gonna get tossed out of the game if you put your hands on [an] official,” he said.

While the skirmish only occurred in the 3rd quarter, virtually the Buffs appeared beaten and ceding the result. They were running out of ideas and Kansas seemed to be able to move the ball on their defense all game. Their RB Devin Neal caught the attention of everybody with 207 yards on the ground and a further 80 received through the air. He took it to the end zone 4 times in what felt like a slow knife continually stabbing through the Buffs’ defense.

Sharpe also gave Shedeur a piece of his mind on why the kid has got to be more mature in such instances. “It’s not worth it and plus, you’re the quarterback. I understand when emotion is high, logic is generally low. But just be smart. You’re too valuable. That’s not a good trade off because the official stays in the game and you get tossed…I’m not telling anything that his dad is not going to have a conversation with [him about] when they get home. If they haven’t had the conversation already,” he said. Deion Sanders sure wasn’t pleased about the whole ordeal, as he made his feelings known in the backwash of the loss.

Coach Prime laid into his team after their season-defiant loss

It isn’t often that the best QB on the field plays up to standard at Arrowhead and his team doesn’t emerge victorious. Shedeur Sanders had 266 passing yards and 3 TDs on a cool 79.3% completion rate. Yet, Colorado lost and is now at the mercy of their competitors’ results in the final weekend. The head coach was stoic but visibly frustrated in his post-game presser,

“We started smelling ourselves a little bit. That’s what I just told our team. We got intoxicated with the success. We got intoxicated with the multitude of articles and the assumption that we’re this and the assumption that we’re that. And we did not play CU football. Therefore, we got our butts kicked,” Coach Prime remarked. “We controlled our own destiny, and we fumbled it.”

As it stands, there is a 4-way tie at the top of the Big 12. Two of these teams will go to the championship game to play for a spot in the CFP. Colorado is trailing the other teams via tiebreakers, so a win next weekend doesn’t guarantee their presence. Everybody involved is catching flak. So close yet so far, as the Buffs may well end up failing due to a stumble on the penultimate hurdle.