Over the past few years the Colorado Buffaloes have fielded very weak football teams. The last time they were ranked in the AP Top 25 was 2020. And that was for just one week.
All of this was bound to change when Deion Sanders was introduced as the new head coach.
Most every sports fan knows Deion Sanders and even if you are not a sports fan it is likely you have heard the name sometime before in the player headlines. But until recently, he had never been a head coach.
Most people were skeptical of “Coach Prime” and whether or not he could be a successful coach at the D1 level. He had proved himself before, however, as he had a very successful coaching stint at the historically black college of Jackson State. He ended up with the record of 27-7 throughout his 3 years.
Making major off-season changes to the roster, which included bringing along two of his sons along as players (junior, Shedeur, and senior Shiloh), Sanders hit the ground running as a coach.
Coach Prime immediately put Colorado on the map in week one by beating then 17th ranked TCU who last season played in the National Championship. This was a huge win as everyone learned that Colorado was solid. Shedeur Sanders threw for 510 yards and had 4 total touchdowns. The country also learned of the two way sensation Travis Hunter who, just like Deion, plays both sides of the football. Hunter played 152 snaps in total. He ended up getting an interception while having 119 yards receiving.
How did Hunter’s performance stack up in week one? His numbers were absolutely absurd not to overlook Travis Hunter is one of the first athletes in a long time to play both sides of the ball. And he did it in 100 degree Texas weather.
Colorado followed this upset by winning their home opener against the Nebraska Corn Huskers. Again, both Travis Hunter and Shedeuar Sanders shined and led their team to victory.
In week three the Buffaloes won in spectacular fashion, winning in double overtime 43-35. Colorado had a scare as they trailed most of the game but in the final minutes Shedaur led his team down the field to tie the game and send it to overtime. Coach Prime made incredible decisions along the way.
Even though the Buffaloes came out victorious, they still fell in the new AP rankings to number 19. After three wins, that ranking was very respectable but Coach Prime says they will improve over the next few weeks.
But Deion and his team will have very tall tasks in the coming weeks as they have to take on tenth ranked Oregon then number five USC. Two Top Ten opponents in back to back weeks will be extremely challenging for Colorado’s defense as they will have to go up against Heisman Trophy frontrunner Bo Nix, and the Oregon offense. They will then have to try and contain USC and the star quarterback Caleb Williams who won the Heisman last year.
Having Deion Sanders on the sidelines has impacted ticket sales, too. With Sanders taking over the reins at Colorado, ticket sales have risen to an all time high. According to Bleacher Report, Colorado ($517) has surpassed Ohio State ($512) for college football’s most expensive ticket.
Deion Sanders has left a huge impact on everyone at the campus even for just the few months he has been coaching. The rest of the season for Colorado will be very exciting to watch as they look to continue to prove people wrong and continue having the success they are having now with Coach Prime calling the shots
