OSU football coach Eric Morris believes Deion Sanders, Colorado best '2-win team' in nation

STILLWATER — When Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris is looking at the Colorado Buffaloes, he doesn’t see a woebegone 2-4 team.

“The crazy thing about this team and watching this team, Colorado, right now is they might be the best two-win team in the nation,” Morris said.

Morris pointed to the combined record of the teams that have beaten Colorado: Northwestern, Baylor and Texas Tech are a combined 15-3.

The Buffs were competitive in all three Big 12 losses this season. Colorado was tied in the fourth quarter against Baylor, led TTU 7-3 at halftime and held a third-quarter lead against Utah.

“They’re a play away from making it happen and the one thing that strikes me is this team’s really old right now, Colorado,” Morris said. “Their roster is old. They got a lot of veteran players. Now, they’ve come from different places, but similar to us, they’ve played a lot of football, and I think that shows up.”

Here are takeaways from Morris’ Tuesday press conference:

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Senior safety Mose Phillips III will miss the Colorado game with a shoulder injury, his second straight missed game. 

It’s a significant loss. OSU is 4-0 in games where Phillips starts and 0-2 in games he hasn’t started. 

After the season-opener against Tulsa, Phillips took over Evan Jackson’s spot as OSU’s starting safety. The Cowboys won four games with Phillips in the starting lineup.

Phillps has made 23 tackles and an interception this season. Jackson has made 12 tackles. 

ESPN reported it has reached a “handshake agreement” with the College Football Playoff to expand from 12 teams to 24, beginning in the 2027 season.

Morris said, at some point, he’ll sit back and think about the pros and cons of the proposition, but right now he is focused on trying to fix the problems in front of his team. 

He offered one thought. A playoff game in Boone Pickens Stadium would be epic.

“I do think at some point having on campus playoff-type atmosphere, I can just imagine Stillwater, playing at home and the energy around this place in a playoff game,” Morris said. “That fires me up without thinking too deep into it right there. But what happens to bowls, what happens to (group-of-seven conference teams)? I mean, there’s just so many things that I’d have to really process before I gave you a true definitive answer.”

There is a rule of thumb Morris gives his kick returners. 

If the kick is in the air for less than four seconds, return it. If it is in the air for longer than that, call a fair catch. Four seconds of hang time allows the coverage to get down the field. 

When Miles Coleman, OSU’s primary kick returner, got “a little nicked up” Saturday, it opened the door for Braylin Presley to make his first on-field contributions since joining the team on Oct. 4.

In the third quarter, Presley returned a kick for 8 yards and a holding penalty brought the Cowboys back to start their drive at the 10-yard line. 

Presley’s second return was better. He caught a kickoff at the 5 and returned it 21 yards to the 26. 

Listed as a receiver, Presley has played running back and receiver in college at OSU and Tulsa. He returned 12 kicks over the past four seasons and averaged 28.3 yards per kick return. 

“That’s something that we’ve watched on film Presley do and has had some success doing it,” Morris said. “So, it’s a good spot for us to utilize him back there.”

Ben Hutchens covers OSU athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Ben? He can be reached at bhutchens@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ben_hutchens_. Sign up for OSU Sports Minute newsletter to access more coverage of the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Support Ben’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU football coach Eric Morris believes Deion Sanders, Colorado best ‘2-win team’ in nation