Let’s be clear, this is the Colorado Buffaloes’ victory. Yet, Coach Deion “Prime Time” Sanders takes a lot of heat and pressure off his squad. Coach Sanders is brash, succinct and emotive. His bravado is infectious. His team knows he is not fake. They believe in him because he is genuine. Coach Sanders simply speaks the truth and gets results. He also keeps receipts.
Colorado gambled when they hired Coach Sanders. They offered him a contract they didn’t have the money for, but believed they would once the announcement was made. The school and the Coach had faith in each other, and it has paid off in game one. Prime brought his two sons with him along with several other budding superstars. Prime has an eye for talent. His eye for talent extends to not only football players but coach’s as well. This is not a one-man band. Coach Sanders knew he needed a great staff to pull off historic roster turnover and hope to be competitive.
The results show that Coach Sanders and his coaching staff have executed a masterful job of readying their players for the season. Watching Shedeur Sanders operate the offense showed that the whole team has been hard at work. The first half did not feature one offensive line penalty. That is coaching. In fact, the offensive line gave Sanders plenty of time to throw the ball. Sander’s day ended with 510 yards thru the air and four touchdowns.
The operation of the offense looked like a well-oiled machine. Shedeur confidently delivered the football throughout the game. He knew when to throw it and where to throw it. He took what the defense gave him. He also took his shots when they presented themselves. Sander’s first deep throw was underthrown. His next two were on the money but dropped. Still, Sander’s kept throwing them when the time was right eventually netting big plays to move the chains. Sanders routinely put the team in good position to convert third downs. Sanders also understood that he has great playmakers around him allowing him to take what the defense gives him. The Colorado offense executed and won as a team.
The Buffalo defense needs work. Despite allowing 42 points, they showed that they have a formidable secondary along with a few excellent pass rushers. Their biggest issue is stopping the run. TCU racked up 262 yards on the ground along with four rushing touchdowns.
Travis Hunter might be the best non-quarterback player in college football. He played over 120 snaps in Fort Worth’s 100-degree heat. He had 11 receptions for 119 yards, multiple pass deflections, an interception and several drive stopping tackles. Coach Prime will have to figure out how to manage his reps if they hope to have Hunter finish the season.
What can we take away from this game? If the game film shows anything, it shows that this team is motivated and resilient. When TCU took their first lead, the Buffaloes’ came right back at them. Multiple times the Buffaloes’ converted on third and longs and even a few fourth and shorts. This team is not afraid, and the PAC 12 should be on notice.
No one knew what to expect from this Colorado squad. Prime did. He put his money where his mouth was and beat the runner up to the National Champion. Now the PAC 12 has film on his squad. How will the PAC 12 respond? Can the Buffaloes’ adjust? For now, Colorado can bask in this victory and wonder how far they can go this year.
