BOULDER — All Deion Sanders had to do was show up to practice Wednesday to inspire his team.

Less than 24 hours after his 16th surgery in the last three years, one of many to address ongoing hereditary blood clot issues in his legs, there Coach Prime was as Colorado continued preparation for a pivotal matchup against No. 22 Iowa State on Saturday — one that could send the Buffaloes’ season spiraling if they failed to get a win.

Seeing their coach prove his commitment by bouncing back once again from his health issues was all the motivation the players in the locker room needed to stop their losing streak and get their season back on track.

“It gave us a reason to fight,” said senior linebacker Jeremiah Brown, who has played for Sanders since Jackson State.

The Buffs fought like their season was on the line Saturday afternoon at Folsom Field and came away with one of the signature wins of the Coach Prime era — just their second over a ranked team since the start of 2023.

After blowing two-touchdown leads in each of the last two games, CU (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) found a way to come up with the necessary plays on both sides of the ball to come away with a 24-17 win over the Cyclones (5-2, 1-2 Big 12).

“I think them seeing me in practice, knowing what this journey has been for me and not skipping out on them, I think they respected the heck out of that and understood that I’m here,” Sanders said. “I ain’t going nowhere. I don’t care what’s going on; I am here. I got your back. I love those young men for that. I love those guys that call me ‘coach,’ as well as the staff that have supported me as well.”

CU was far from the dominant team in the final game before the program’s first of two bye weeks — Iowa State finished with a 441-395 edge in total yards and had more first downs — but every single one of the key plays in the game was made by Coach Prime’s team, especially defensively.

With the Buffs leading 21-17 early in the fourth quarter and with the Cyclones threatening to retake the lead, safety Tawfiq Byard intercepted a pass by Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht at the goal line.

After Colorado gave the ball back a few minutes later without adding to its lead, the Cyclones pushed all of their chips to the table by going for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 18-yard line. It was Brown and Amari McNeill who combined to stop ISU running back Abu Sama III in the backfield for a turnover on downs.

In that moment, a collective weight was lifted off the shoulders of a Buffs team haunted by multiple close losses in the first half of the season.

“It’s just like relief,” Byard said. “It was a good feeling to get out there and finish today.”

Now, CU has a whole two weeks to celebrate and build off its first win over a Power 4 program in 2025. The next game, two weeks from now at Utah will be a challenge, but maybe the Buffs have finally turned a corner on a cloudy Boulder day in which the skies opened up just in time to bask in a victory. 

There’s no telling how much better a 3-4 record feels, as compared to the 2-5 record Sanders’ team could’ve been staring at had things not gone their way against the Cyclones. But it doesn’t heal old wounds.

“The frustrating part about that is we’re good,” Coach Prime said. “I know that sounds crazy when you (see) our record, but we’re good. We should’ve been winning and we’re still upset with that.”

Not too upset to go out on the town and celebrate, though. 

“Usually I don’t want to be seen after a loss. I might actually go do it,” Sanders said. “I’m so darn happy for these young men and the staff and everybody involved in our program. We fought for this one.

“Hopefully today is the genesis of us getting going in the right direction.”