BOULDER >> The Buffs are just good enough to break your heart. Lord knows they’ve spent more than a month breaking Coach Prime’s.

“‘We’re so close’ is what I told the team, but yet so far,” Deion Sanders said after his first CU team fell to 4-6 (1-6 in Pac-12 play) and closed out the home part of his inaugural season in Boulder with a 34-31 loss to Arizona late Saturday afternoon.

“We just simply don’t know how to win yet. And it’s not for lack of effort, not for lack of coaching with the staff or the support staff, the trainers and strength (and) conditioning, and everybody around (us) — they’re doing a phenomenal job. We just can’t get over that hump.”

Sanders’ long, wistful gaze when asked how 3-0 became 4-6 bore the tones of a man who loves winning yet has spent the better part of seven weeks seeing that affection go almost completely unrequited.

CU must win out to garner a .500 record, with two away games left to close out the dance card — a Friday-night visit to Washington State on Nov. 17, followed by a trip to Utah on Nov. 25.

The Buffs haven’t won in Pullman since 2012. CU hasn’t won in Salt Lake City since 2011.

“We’re close,” Coach Prime continued. “We’re really close. And I hope (the fans) can see it. I hope you can see it.”

CU fans see a team that’s flashed some massive talent upgrades from last fall’s 1-11 train wreck, as evidenced Saturday by the usual heroics from quarterback Shedeur Sanders (262 passing yards, 29 net rush yards, three total touchdowns); 74 receiving yards and an athletic, how-did-he-do-that pass break-up in the end zone by two-way threat Travis Hunter; and 150 all-purpose yards (66 on five punt returns) by senior wideout Xavier Weaver.

Yet the Buffs dropped a fourth straight tilt and are now 1-4 in their last five games decided by seven points or fewer. And that’s happened, largely, for all-too-familiar reasons:

Issues between the tackles and issues between the ears.

CU (4-6, 1-6 Pac-12) committed 11 penalties for 83 yards in infractions, compared to eight flags for Arizona (7-3, 5-2). The Buffs were out-sacked three to one and outrushed by a margin of 207-77.

“(In) an atmosphere like this, we didn’t know what to expect,” noted Wildcats tailback Jonah Coleman, who ran for 179 yards on 11 carries. “(CU has) got celebrities and the outside noise, so staying focused was kind of a challenge when we came in here. But we were able to do it.”

While the Buffs struggled to maintain their focus at home, it was a former CU player who, ironically, made one of the biggest plays of the day. In a see-saw, high-scoring tilt that was tied 31-31 with 90 seconds left, ex-Buffs wideout Montana Lemonious-Craig, one of several players who transferred out after the CU spring game, was tackled at the 1-yard line after a 5-yard gain for a first down with 1:04 left in the contest.

If the former Buff had scored, it would’ve put Arizona up six or seven, pending the extra point. But it would’ve also given a fast CU team with a quick-strike QB the ball back with roughly a minute left — and a timeout in the back of Deion Sanders’ pocket.

Instead, the visitors, with four cracks at the end zone, played for the field goal. Arizona elected to bleed the clock out on CU and take a chance on a short kick for the win. Which Tyler Loop hit from 24 yards out as time expired, leaving Coach Prime to ponder another one that got away.

“I mean, I’m not perfect,” the elder Sanders said of CU’s game management. “We’re not perfect, by any means. You can always second-guess everything.

“But if you’re in a headset, and you’re hearing things and you’re seeing what’s happening and you know your shortcomings and you know the positive(s) that you have, you may have a whole different perspective if you can hear and see what’s transpiring.

“(Penalties) played a tremendous role. And they’re not coached to do that. So please take that in consideration. They’re not coached to hit a quarterback late. They’re not coached to jump offside. They’re not coached to hold (anybody). … That just happened. That’s part of the game. We’ve just got to be a little more disciplined in those moments.”

A sellout crowd of 52,788 at Folsom Field saw the hosts take advantage of several wins in the return game. Three of the Buffs’ four TD drives were of 48 yards or fewer, helped in large part by Weaver’s runbacks.

In assistant coach and former Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s second game as primary play-caller, CU regained some of its old explosiveness, although the pace of play was slower than in recent weeks.

There was also more of an attempt at balance early on, as the Buffs racked up almost as many rush attempts at the half (18) against Arizona as they did for the entire game vs. Oregon State (19) the weekend before. And for decent yardage, with a net gain of 48 yards at the break, 22 coming from the feet of the younger Sanders.

“I don’t know from your vantage point, your viewpoint, but it seemed like we were the better team,” Coach Prime said. “And we just couldn’t get it done.”