Deion Sanders was going over some Colorado football stats the other day, like leading the Big 12 in sacks or being one of five teams nationally with four different receivers recording a 100-yard game.
“More than three turnovers in three straight road games for the first time since Moby Dick was a minnow,” Sanders joked.
“The road wins back-to-back for the first time since I had a curl,” he said, laughing.
Colorado is 5-2 and will host Cincinnati on Saturday (10:15 p.m. ET) in a game with a lot at stake in the Big 12 championship race and a possible automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. It will be held (again) at a sold-out Folsom Field and broadcast (again) on national television (ESPN).
“We’ve earned where we are,” Sanders said. “We really feel like we are better than we are. Because we are just beginning to see the fruit of the labor and the understanding of the expectation we have for ourselves. Forget what others have for us, but what we have for ourselves.”
Sanders arrived in Boulder to much fanfare and much criticism. He made no apologies for essentially ousting players he didn’t believe in and bringing in a new roster (“my Louis”) through the transfer portal.
There were many bold conversations and daring goals. The Buffaloes were an immediate television hit, but there was a lot of negative reaction to a program that some thought had proven nothing. They started fast last year, but finished 4-8.
Well, here we are, and with each successive strong performance, Coach Prime’s path looks like a winning path. There are five games left in the 2024 season, so in terms of final record, anything can happen.
However, any judgment on Sanders’ program in Colorado must be made in light of what he inherited: the worst major program in the country.
The 2022 Buffs finished 1-11 and struggled to attract much of a fan base or national attention. Not only was it the show’s 16th losing season in 17 years, but it wasn’t competitive. The Buffs lost those 11 games by an average of 32.4 points. They allowed 50 more touchdowns than they scored.
Sanders would become his ninth head coach (full-time or interim) since 2010.
They now have an exciting two-way Heisman Trophy candidate (Travis Hunter) and a likely first-round pick at quarterback (Shedeur Sanders) and are actually being asked if they wish they didn’t have to appear on national television so much. because they would get an earlier spot for the start.
“Once upon a time we were begging to be on TV,” Coach Prime said. “We are not going to make a bad face about being on national television.”
Everything Deion comes with pre-established, often passionate, opinions on both sides. That’s how it’s always been. He does things differently.
However, it’s worth noting that Colorado would have been thrilled to hire any coach who in a season and a half could turn a losing mess into what it has become. Income has increased. Merchandise sales have increased. The sale of season tickets is increasing. Applications are open.
It’s the work of Sanders, who entered the portal unapologetically, believing he could build a team that way despite the skeptics.
Now Colorado is not only good, it appears to be getting better. Consider that CU is not only leading the Big 12 in sacks, but 16 of them have come in the last three weeks as the defensive line has gelled in a way many thought was impossible with short-term rentals.
“We kind of know what we’re doing,” said Sanders, who previously coached a prep school in Texas and FCS Jackson State. “I know it didn’t feel like we were doing it that early. We’ve been doing this for a while. I built teams since I was at the youth level, I went and made something out of nothing in the Dallas neighborhood.
“We kind of know how to work the landscape a little bit,” he continued. “And now it’s happening and we’re excited about it.”
Unlike other coaches, Sanders doesn’t prioritize high school recruiting. CU has just eight commitments from the Class of 2025. I would prefer to fill the transfer portal at the end of the season and be selective with young players. Expect a big haul this December because he’s no longer selling a successful concept in Boulder.
“Winning helps with recruiting,” he said. “The general thought process of people joining something that is successful. People don’t want to join something that is failing. “They want to join something that is successful.”
As for bringing in dozens of high school recruits, he doesn’t see the point. He just wants guys who have a chance to get on the field right away.
“Why would you take 30 kids out of high school when 30 kids aren’t going to play?” Sanders said, “I know last year, we played possibly the most freshmen in the (conference).”
All of this got Sanders a lot of attention, some good and some bad. So far, however, no one can argue that it hasn’t worked in a place where nothing had worked for most of the past two decades.
Can he continue like this when Shedeur and Hunter go to the NFL? No one knows, but replacing that kind of talent is what all good programs have to deal with. Will he stay at CU forever? No one knows, but any coach who turns a 1-11 team into a winner so quickly would also have a chance to leave.
Right now, Coach Prime is all about CU. This week he spent time shaking hands with some campus staff in gratitude for their work.
“This campus is amazing, some of us walk by it every day and I was talking about how beautiful it is,” he said. “These grounds are impeccable.”
A season and a half into this experiment, the grass is pretty green right now in Boulder.