Will the Oregon beatdown derail the Coach Prime recruiting train? — Garrett S.
There was so much hype and excitement around
Colorado’s 3-0 start that we all forgot what the Buffaloes were supposed to be this year. They were never supposed to be a team that could win a Power 5 conference. They were supposed to be improved from last year’s 1-11 record. They were supposed to be a team that was worth watching.
Deion Sanders already accomplished that through the first three weeks of the season. The Buffaloes came into the weekend already playing with house money.
Colorado overachieved. With that roster, it probably shouldn’t have been 3-0. It was never realistic for this team to beat Oregon in Autzen Stadium. Sanders has been a miracle worker with his roster flip, no question, but I’m not sure it would have been physically possible for Colorado to match up with the Ducks with the roster it has. Guess what? Colorado might be in store for a similar type of beatdown this weekend when it hosts
USC.
Why? Because being good enough to compete for a College Football Playoff spot isn’t microwavable (though
TCU did pull off a minor miracle in 2022). Colorado is going up against programs now that also have really good quarterbacks and exciting skill players. They are going up against teams that frankly are bigger, better, deeper and faster than they are at the line of scrimmage. This sport is complex, but sometimes it isn’t rocket science.
If Colorado gets its butt kicked against the Trojans, I think that’s going to let some air out of the hype balloon. Part of the intrigue with Colorado was to see how far Sanders could go with this team, to see how long it could stay undefeated. There was intrigue, of course, heading into the weekend because the college football world was excited to see whether Colorado could pull off another stunner, bigger than the Week 1 win at TCU.
But reality set in five minutes into the game. Colorado on Saturday was the Colorado we expected to see this season.
It’s a solid team that’s well coached that could maybe win six or seven games but frankly doesn’t have the talent to compete against really good teams.
That, however, doesn’t mean Colorado is a failure or Sanders won’t be able to recruit top-level talent anymore. Elite players have been visiting Boulder throughout the fall.
This year’s team might not have much depth, but it does have star power, and Sanders clearly knows how to showcase his best players. He coaches them up and gives them a platform for future success.
What does Sanders need now? More stars.
He has the proof of concept and a sales pitch. I actually believe Colorado, through the portal and traditional high school recruiting, has a chance to be really good in the future. Good enough, even, to compete with Oregon.