Colorado had been in much turmoil before Deion, with only 2 winning seasons before he came in. Deion was expected to make a lasting impact on Colorado's culture, bettering the future of Colorado Buffaloes football and its players. He brought in many wonderful talents to help achieve his goals. Shilo Sanders was a 3-star recruit out of high school who was the safety on Prime's Southwestern Atlantic conference-winning team. Shedeur Sanders was the 4-star quarterback who was on most of Prime's winning teams. However, the most notable talent Coach Prime brought in was Travis Hunter, the two-way 5-star WR/CB who switched commitments to play with him. overall, He brought in around 50 players, 9 of which being from the team he previously coached.
With this new revamped roster, many critics didn't have high hopes for the Buffalo. They called the team a circus with a very low ceiling, and if everything goes right, they can MAYBE be bad instead of horrible. Prime let the players know how the media expected them to be and used it as fuel for the players.
The season came, and Colorado immediately exceeded expectations. first up against the runner-ups for the national title, TCU, going into the game, if the Buffaloes kept the game close, it would have been seen as a win. However, it would be enough for Prime. In a high-scoring shootout out the Buffs beat the #17th-ranked TCU Frogs 45-42. This stunned the college football world, shocking all the naysayers and turning many undisputed haters into fans eager to see what they have in store next week
The next week came and, even though many still hated them, more and more people were anticipating what was to come next. Will the Colorado Buffaloes keep their winning streak going, or are they a one week wonder who got lucky? Win or lose, many people waited in their seats to see the result. Unfortunately for the haters, they one once again. they won big at that. it was by a blowout, the first one in the school's history.
Throughout the next 4 weeks, Colorado ends up 4-2, their only two losses coming from #10 Oregon and #8 USC, USC being the team they lost by one score. Prime in only 6 weeks has killed every possible negative narrative revolving around the team. The team that was only expected to get 2 wins all season now has 4 before the halfway point. The players who were, for the most part, nobodies have made a name for themselves and are now household names.
The Buffalo's season did have a lackluster ending, I'll be the first to admit that, but to call the season a failure is far from the truth. Prime in his first year had the best year of the school's history, not only building the foundation for years to come but also reigniting the spark within the fans of Colorado College football. This is reinforced by the fact that the very next season, they went 7-2 and had multiple players get drafted to the NFL.
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