At the end of season two of coach Deion Sanders’ docuseries “Coach Prime,” he said 2023’s 4-8 season was one of “hope” and that he gave football at Colorado an exciting breath of fresh air.
Granted, he did take a virtually irrelevant program that hadn’t had a winning record since 2016 — with the exception of 2020’s shortened season — and made it the epicenter of American sports media, all while losing the last six games of the year to finish 4-8.
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While Coach Prime didn’t get the results he’d likely hoped for that year, his final thoughts about the season were that it was one of hope. His tone quickly shifted when he turned the page and looked forward to 2024, trademarking it as the year of “expectation.”
Two games into the season, the team looks eerily similar to last year’s operation: flashes of tremendous plays or frenzied catches and plays that get views but don’t translate to wins.
The Buffaloes came 5 yards short of losing to North Dakota State in the season opener. With seconds left, NDSU quarterback Cam Miller tossed a prayer deep near the end zone, where it was eventually caught but brought down feet away from the win.
A major contributor to Colorado’s collapse last year was defensive struggles. In the first half against NDSU, the Buffs allowed 20 points off four separate scoring drives. Similar to last year, the offense must consistently keep their foot on the pedal to match the defense granting points.
The halftime adjustments made by Deion Sanders and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston showed. The Buffs were able to hold NDSU out of the end zone until nearly two minutes were left in the game.
Unlike the defense alarms, the Shedeur Sanders-led offense came out sharp. They had back-to-back touchdown drives to open the season, including a 69-yard score by Jimmy Horn Jr., as CU Boulder went on to win 31-26.
After defeating NDSU, the Buffs headed to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the old-head rivalry between the Buffs and promising Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Colorado went in determined to storm Lincoln and beat first-year quarterback Dylan Raiola. CU’s offense took the field first but was quickly stopped by the Nebraska defense in three plays.
From that opening, Nebraska set the tone and never looked back. Throughout the game, Shedeur Sanders was under pressure and not hitting on his signature throws. The offense finished with 244 passing yards — nearly half of them to Travis Hunter — and an abysmal 16 total rushing yards.
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CU Boulder’s unpleasant loss to Nebraska revealed how fragile their game plan truly is. When the offense can’t connect, they lose.
The hot-and-cold Colorado Buffaloes come 1-1 to the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado State. Last year, CU had the luxury of hosting the game while the world was watching. ESPN’s College GameDay, prime time Saturday night and controversial comments by CSU coach Jay Norvell set up for a historic culmination.
This time around, the inconceivable hype train following Coach Prime is less present as the Buffs come in as 7.5-point favorites, facing a 1-1 Colorado State team that’s coming off a foreseen 38-17 win over another in-state foe: Northern Colorado.
CU Boulder will need to clean up many aspects of their game to compete with the best teams in the Big 12 and with CSU.
It’s true you can never count out the Colorado Buffaloes. They’ve accomplished formidable wins — wins that make fans tune back in every week — but time and time again, the Buffs come in far too confident.
It starts by fixing weak spots on both sides of the ball. The offense can be spectacular, but Shedeur Sanders needs more names to throw to. Hunter is a true generational talent, but no other receiver comes close to his receptions or touchdowns.
Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester can get open but struggle with consistency. The offensive game plan is so dependent on the passing threat that when it’s getting covered, they appear helpless.
The rushing option has been nonexistent, with only 75 yards through their first two games. The loss of Dylan Edwards has glared thus far in the season, and the offensive line is no help. Nebraska sacked Shedeur Sanders six times last Saturday.
The defense needs to step up, but the two facets they need to quickly improve on are the secondary and stopping the run. NDSU and Nebraska ran for a combined 306 yards against Colorado, averaging a gain of over 4 yards per run.
The Buffs secondary had two poor performances to start the season; although, DJ McKinney has done a good job wrapping up, as he leads the team with 14 tackles.
For 2024 being Deion Sanders’ season of expectation, it’s been anything but. A more applicable term would be inconsistency. An inconsistent offense with inconsistent play calls and inconsistent game plans.
When this team is good, they are one of the most fun football teams in the country to watch. Truthfully, the guys who make up this roster could play in a bowl game if they reach their full potential, but it all starts against Colorado State.
If Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes can make a statement win in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, they can go the rest of the season one Saturday at a time and make the correct adjustments to return Colorado back to a winning football program.
Reach Baylan Wysuph at tips@cuindependent.com or on Twitter @The_CUI.