Deion Sanders Gets Candid on Why Colorado's Aidan Chiles Plan Failed
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Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders did not have to look long for the biggest problem in the Buffaloes' 41-7 loss at Evanston. His defense got the kind of game it wanted from Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Aidan Chiles. Colorado just could not contain him once it did.
"We wanted him to sit in the pocket and throw, we wanted to force him into tough throws, and that's what he made," Sanders said during his post-game press conference.
Northwestern's Aidan Chiles Gave Colorado the Look It Wanted
Colorado entered the game with a plan to limit the damage Chiles could do when a play broke down. Chiles himself had led Michigan State with six rushing touchdowns in 2025, so keeping him in the pocket made sense. The Buffaloes wanted him to beat them with difficult throws instead of letting him create easy yards with his legs.
Chiles accepted the challenge and went on to complete 17 of 22 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He added two rushing scores as Northwestern pulled away.
Sanders eventually gave him the credit for it.
"That's the best football game I've ever seen him play. No disrespect," Sanders said.
Chiles did not need to turn every snap into a broken play. He was patient, waited till he found open receivers, and made those throws Colorado hoped would be difficult. The Buffaloes got Chiles into the type of game they wanted, but he still found a way to control it.
Northwestern Kept Beating What Colorado Saw
The Wildcats also kept hurting Colorado with a play Sanders said his staff could see coming.
Northwestern running back Joseph Himon II caught three passes for 46 yards, and all three went for touchdowns. Sanders pointed directly to the wheel route after the game.
"How many times did they wheel route us? We're calling it on the headset. We have to do a better job preparing," Sanders said.
Even though Colorado knew what Northwestern wanted to do and had a plan to stop it, the Wildcats still ended up making those plays. In fact, the frustrating part was that the Buffaloes were not surprised by everything they saw. They just did not handle it well enough when the ball was snapped.
Sanders also gave Northwestern coach David Braun and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly credit for keeping Colorado off balance.
"We didn't play the type of offensive and defensive football we're capable of playing, we didn't," Sanders said. "And hats off to them for forcing us into that. They did a great job of coaching over there, better than we did."
One thing to take from Sanders comments is that Colorado's plan depended on forcing Chiles into throws the secondary could challenge. Unfortunately, Northwestern edged out on that because they never let those chances turn into stops.
Colorado Now Has to Make the Plan Work
The message was simple. Colorado can have the right idea before the snap and still lose the play after it. A defense has to recognize the route, stay with the receiver, and make the quarterback pay for the throw. Northwestern kept doing the opposite to the Buffaloes.
Colorado has a chance to make things right with its Big 12 opener against Baylor. Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve has another week to work through what went wrong in Evanston. Sanders did not dress up for the loss afterward, either.
"Flat-out butt-kicking," he said. "But they played a hack of a game."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/colorado as Deion Sanders Gets Candid on Why Colorado's Aidan Chiles Plan Failed.
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