Sep 5, 20235 min read

Prime Time

College Football is officially back, and has it's early season headline: Coach Prime and his Buffaloes have arrived on the brightest stage.

The Buffaloes, who finished 1-11 last season, defeated #17 TCU, 45-42, on the road Saturday, led by Deion Sanders in his first FBS game as a head coach. Coach Prime arrived on scene exactly how he said he would- here he comes, confidence loud and swaggering, armed with the coaching leadership to navigate a ship of winners and go gettas. Deion and his squad wanted receipts from the very first snap of the NCAAF season. What a way for Colorado to make themselves known & what a way to talk back to all the doubters:

Not only did the Buffs' come in and beat a team who made the Natty last season (slaughtered by Georgia), they beat the Horned Frogs by using the same recipe TCU used to reach the National Championship last season: the transfer portal. Sonny Dykes arrived at TCU last season and turned the transfer portal into his salvation, transforming the Horned Frogs from a 5-7 team to a 13-2 squad that reached the Natty. And Colorado just beat TCU with the same potion, creating a notion that they have the same aspirations but with hopes to have a different result. Coach Prime is set to make the current structure of college football his playground, and plans to change the landscape.

We all remember the splash Deion made in his first moments after being announced as the new Head Coach of Colorado University, declaring his approach right off the bat. In the era of participation trophies & wanting everything equal: his approach struck many nerves across the nation and inside Colorado's football program. Coach Prime didn't fold on his approach despite the backlash. If you don't want to earn your spot, scholarship or not, then the new CU wasn't for you. The results showed that for most: CU wasn't for them.

Only 10 scholarship players from the 2022 roster remained with the team for 2023. The team has 86 new players to start the new era, the most incoming players to an FBS roster since the inception of the transfer portal (2018). I bet it's the most ever, portal or not. We have never seen this before. Coach Prime took a 1-11 team and cleaned out all of the bad toxins to build a team of winners. Not only winners, but men that fit his mold. A mold of success; work ethic; and a king of the jungle mindset. For the student-athletes, Coach Prime is exactly who you want at the helm of your growth. As a man and an athlete with aspirations of going Pro. The light of the program is back on & despite the haters, the rest are here for the rise.

Colorado's 53 incoming transfers is the most any team has ever added in an off-season. With $28M plus in donations and a packed spring game that had more in attendance than all but two regular season games in 2022- the hype was highly anticipated going into the week one clash with the Horned Frogs. Rather someone tuning in to watch a possible collapse, or tuning in to watch the rise, the bottom line is everyone wanted in on witnessing Colorado football take the field. The new players in Colorado threads didn't wait to lite the flame.

Buf's had star-studded performances from three of their biggest named transfers: Two-way phenom Travis Hunter and Coach Prime's sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and safety Shilo Sanders. They all played for Coach Prime at Jackson State, and in their first game in the top tier of Division I on Saturday, they showed why they belong. Shedeur Sanders threw for a school-record 510 yards and four toudys, Shilo Sanders posted 10 tackles (9 solo), and Hunter went full on Gridiron Ohtani in a Troy Brown on steroids performance, as he recorded a remarkable 129 snaps, finishing with 11 catches for 119 yards as a WR and making a diving red-zone interception while playing cornerback.

Shedeur was on another level throwin' the 'skin. Dude was slicin the laces and showed intangibles that will have NFL eyes at games the rest of the season. Sanders spread the rock around allowing four different receivers to surpass 100 yards, the first time ever Colorado had four 100 yard receivers in a single game. Shedeur had the most passing yards of any player in their FBS debut in the past 25 years and threw more toudys on the road at TCU than Colorado threw in 6 road games last season (3). Shedeur was comfortable and extremely confident under center in the biggest game thus far in his young career. Shedeur's dangerous gadget in Travis Hunter also was spectacular and showed why he has the hype he has.

Despite a few big drops, Hunter showed elite play at receiver with sharp route-running and undeniable agility and awareness. Hunter posted 11 receptions for 119 yards on offense to go along with his interception and good coverage on defense. The connection he has with Shedeur Sanders is strong, and will be a REAL problem for those in the Big-12. Hunter was great on defense as well with an impact play that showed great pursuit skills and a ballhawk mentality:

Gotta love a Gus Johnson voice screech and you sure as hell gotta love a full-tool superstar showcasing elite gridiron play on BOTH sides of the ball. The last two players with 20 receptions and 3 interceptions in a season are Chris Gamble (2002) and Champ Bailey (1998)- Hunter already has 11 receptions and a pick after just week one. Great company to keep as Gamble an Bailey had very long and successful careers in football. The future is bright for Hunter as well.

This is a picture perfect type of debut for Deion Sanders and his Buffaloes. Coach Prime secured the first win by an underdog of more than 20 points in his full-time FBS coaching debut since the 1978 FBS/FCS split. After Colorado won just one game last season, Coach Prime has the team now ranked (21), 1-0, and ready to push their narrative into the elite. It may be just the first game, but the hype is real. That argument is DONE. If you wish to hope on them to fail, then I suggest you keep your hopes to yourself. This team has and WILL thrive off public doubt and hate, you have been warned. It's a prime day to be a Colorado football supporter. You need more evidence to get behind Coach Prime? Recognize:

Prime Time

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