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When Deion Sanders entered into a Power Five program with the Colorado Buffaloes football team coming out of Jackson State in Mississippi, he upset the established order of the sport of college football entirely. He upset coaches, analysts, players and probably even some parents along the way. He did things like he always has — the Coach Prime way. In doing so, he used his charismatic charm and years of football wisdom to change the Buffaloes football program for the better. So much so that the Buffaloes team now compared to last year is completely unrecognizable, as it has been transformed and made over in the likeness of what Sanders perceives is now a team capable of winning.
Brand new Colorado football
As it's been well-documented by now, Sanders upended the entire Colorado football program, telling much of the the 2022 team to more or less pack their bags. This eventually led to Sanders and the Buffaloes staff to revamping their roster by means of the transfer portal. At one point, Colorado had 71 players enter the portal since last August, with 47 entering at the beginning of the spring transfer window back on April 15, per ESPN. However, Sanders has supplemented that by using the portal to his advantage as well, bringing in some 50 commits, including the likes of his quarterback Shedeur Sanders and talented two-way player, Travis Hunter.
This team will be nothing like the 1-11 team from last season, at least not on paper. It remains to be seen what they can and will do on the field, but from a mere glance, they'll certainly be much more talented, possessing the abilities to be better than a one-win team.
That is why Sanders first year will be so intriguing. No one expects the NFL Hall of Famer to put the Buffaloes in the College Football Playoff in year one. Realistically, it's more so about building a drastically improved team, with perhaps making a bowl game the goal — even though Sanders says he wants to win now. But there's so many what-if factors to this team. There's so many unknowns, such as, how Sanders coaching style will translate from a FCS, HBCU level school to a Power Five conference level school to, overall, just exactly what this team will look like on the field. There's no tape on them, no real advantage for someone like their Week 1 opponent, the College Football Playoff runner-up, TCU, to judge. The 2023 Colorado Buffaloes football team is a mystery waiting to be unlocked.
Sonny Dykes, TCU face the unknown Colorado in Week 1
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes seems well aware of what challenges he and his team faces in Sanders and Colorado in Week 1 as he mentioned in a recent interview with Andy Staples at On3.
“This is going to be much different, because we’re not even going to bother watching Colorado’s film from last year,” Dykes told Staples. “There’s no point in doing that. New schemes, new players, new everything.
“So, it’ll be a complete challenge for us and something that will be different, but the main thing we have to do is make sure our team is ready to play. Make sure we can go out and minimize mistakes. Take care of the football. Be sounds on special teams. All of the things that get you beat early, you know, pre-snap penalties, explosive plays. All the things that matter to losing, especially matter in early ball games. Those things are all magnified in the first two or three ball games.”
Dykes is, however, hoping to lean on previous work, like Sanders time at Jackson State, his coordinators previous positions at other schools, and even Shedeur's play at Jackson State.
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“You start with scheme,” Dykes said. “You gotta watch the coordinators, where those guys were and what they did before and then you try to watch the guys that are going to be important players. Obviously, Sheduer [Sanders] was at Jackson State so we’ll spend a lot of time watching his tape and trying to evaluate what he can do well and what he can’t do well, and what he struggles with.”
New Pod!
TCU coach Sonny Dykes talks getting ready to face Coach Prime and Colorado.
Plus, is the NCAA trying to chase Jim Harbaugh from Michigan?
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🎧 https://t.co/tsET59B8Y0 pic.twitter.com/7sXJbC6S8i— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) August 14, 2023
Expect the unexpected between Colorado, TCU
Thanks to Sanders, we are now seeing what the true ramifications of the transfer portal could look like in the future.
Anytime a team faces an opponent that's bringing in a new head coach, there's going to be challenges in what to expect. But Colorado is a completely different animal this year. There's never been a team like this in college football history that is virtually a new team through and through, from not just a staff but player personnel. From top to bottom, to player, coach, system, culture and style of play, it will all be utterly shrouded in mystery. And that has to play into Sanders advantage in his first year. Sanders and his staff will be able to potentially exploit things against his opponents that other teams simply won't have the opportunities to against his team.
Even the Las Vegas odd makers don't know how to judge this first matchup for the Buffaloes. As of right now, the Buffaloes are 20.5 underdogs, per FanDuel. But how many will even feel comfortable with that bet?
Coming off an embarrassing loss in the national championship game against Georgia, Dykes and his Horned Frogs staff are now in for a much different challenge. They'll be back in the spotlight to begin this season, having to be the first opponent against Sanders' new Colorado team, where all eyes will be on Amon G. Carter Stadium come September 2.
