Deion Sanders kicks players off team after blowout loss. Then came a public apology - USA Today

- Colorado coach Deion Sanders dismissed a few players from the team following a 41-7 loss to Northwestern.

- Sanders cited "conduct detrimental to the team" as the reason for the dismissals.

- Safety Ben Finneseth publicly apologized for disparaging comments made about Northwestern before the game.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday, Sept. 22, that he’s dismissed "a few" players from the team after the Buffaloes suffered a 41-7 loss at Northwestern Sept. 19. Another Colorado player, safety Ben Finneseth, opened Sanders’ weekly news conference in Boulder by standing up and apologizing for comments he made before the game that disparaged Northwestern.

Both moves underscored the seriousness of the defeat last week for Sanders, whose team next plays at Baylor on Sept. 26. The Buffaloes are 2-1 in Sanders’ fourth season but have suffered three defeats of at least 34 points in their last eight games dating to last season, when they finished 3-9.

“It’s a few guys that are not on the team anymore,” Sanders said. "Just so you know.”

Sanders didn’t identify the dismissed players. The Colorado athletic department later issued a statement when asked about the dismissed players by USA TODAY Sports.

"Any potential roster changes have not been finalized," the statement said. "An updated roster will be released later in the week."

Sanders revealed the dismissals after being asked a question about how certain players reacted to the loss at Northwestern on Saturday, including some he indicated were laughing after the game. Sanders described the dismissals as being for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

“A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough,” Sanders said.”It lingered a little bit. Then it imploded. I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that anymore.”

Colorado player Ben Finneseth apologizes to Northwestern

Before the Northwestern game, a video picked up sound from a group of Colorado players that was later posted on social media. Finneseth, a sixth-year safety, was among the group that was said “this place (expletive sucks)” and it “sounds like a (expletive) library.” It's not clear if Finneseth made one or both comments.

Sanders called it “foolishness” and said he wanted to “correct” it. So he brought in Finneseth to address the news media.

“I just want to apologize… first of all to you guys, to everyone that’s tied in with the university, to everyone at Northwestern, to everyone that supports us, to my teammates and my coaches,” Finneseth said. “It was childish. It was a stupid thing that I said. It won’t happen again. And the way I… handled it was horrible. And I promise you guys that it will not happen again, and it will be much more mature moving forward. So I apologize.”

“That’s why I love you,” Sanders told him.

Sanders said he is "changing a few things" after the loss, the fifth-worst of his tenure at Colorado, but said none of it is "alarming."

"We're just asking more of the kids as well as the coaches," Sanders said. ""I'm taking full responsibility for what transpired yesterday, and I will correct it today. And that's where we are."

Colorado players react to dismissals

Sanders said he made the dismissals to “protect” the whole team. He said some players approached him Monday and told him they wanted to be proactive about rooting out problems in the future.

“Tell us who may be next on that list,” Sanders said these players told him.

Colorado linebacker Tyler Martinez addressed it at the same news conference.

“I mean, it sucks in the moment.” Martinez said. “But when you look in the big picture, if it’s gonna help us win, we gotta do it. And it is what it is. I’m sorry to see those guys go, but you know, we got games to win here. And so whatever it takes, is whatever it takes.”

Colorado defensive back Randon Fontenette said it all comes down to winning.

“We just got to preach that every day, and if somebody’s not living up to that standard, you gotta address it,” he said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

(This story was updated to add new information.)