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Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts after a play by cornerback Omarion Cooper (3) in the second quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Hype surrounding Colorado and Coach Prime is about to erupt

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/3/23

Hop on the Colorado bandwagon while there is still room because the Buffaloes look like they are back with a vengeance.

We knew things were going to be different in the Coach Prime era after new head coach Deion Sanders completely overhauled the roster and brought in an entirely new level of confidence, but nobody could have possibly imagine how impressive they would have looked in their season opener on Saturday. And that is probably going to send the hype machine into overdrive.

They marched into TCU as significant underdogs and knocked off last year's College Football Playoff runner up with a thrilling 45-42 win. The game was highlighted by big plays and staggering individual performances by two-way player (WR and CB) Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Deion's son).

After the win, (Deion) Sanders issued a statement to the rest of college football that the Buffaloes are coming, that they heard the doubters, and that they kept the receipts.

“We told you we coming. You thought we was playing. And guess what? We keep receipts.” - Deion Sanders after the Colorado win pic.twitter.com/1mvzEdBopP
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 2, 2023

The expectation for the Buffaloes coming into the season was that their skill position players would be significantly improved from last year's one-win team, but that it might have some problems along the offensive line. But the offensive line more than held its own against TCU on Saturday while the skill position players were even better than anticipated.

Nobody showed that more than Hunter and Sanders.

Sanders had a nearly perfect day at quarterback in his first career FBS start, completing 38-of-47 passes for 510 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was on target with downfield passes, showed incredible poise and was in complete control of the offense from the opening series.

He spread the ball around to six different receivers, four of which topped the 100-yard mark.

That includes Hunter who played a two-way game that was so dominant it is almost hard to imagine how he could possibly sustain it over a full season. Along with a highlight reel interception to prevent a touchdown, he also nearly intercepted another pass, recorded three tackles and also caught 11 passes for 119 yards. He was seemingly always on the field and always at the center of something good for Colorado.

If Colorado's offensive line ends up being an adequate unit that is going to be a potential game-changer in the Pac-12 for this season and could immediately make the program a force much faster than anybody anticipated.

The skill position players look legit, and it is not like they played an easy game on Saturday. Even though TCU lost a lot from last year's team that was still a top-20 team on the road to open the season.

The arrival of Sanders in Colorado brought a ton of hype. Saturday's game is not going to do anything to slow it down.

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