Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders just completed his first season as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, and while the team finished just 4-8 after a 3-0 start, the confidence of Sanders hasn’t been shaken.
In fact, Coach Prime, as he’s affectionately known, believes he and his staff have done enough in the transfer portal and with a few signed class of 2024 recruits that they’ll compete for a CFP spot next year when the field widens to 12 teams.
Sanders, like many others has talked publicly about the Florida State Seminoles being left out of the playoff despite being undefeated (13-0) and winning the ACC. He even mentioned how he empathized with them over being left out, but he also believes Alabama was the correct choice for a bevy of reasons. The main one being FSU not having the services of star quarterback Jordan Travis who was lost for the year late in the season.
Sanders also put himself in his alma mater’s shoes and let it be known that the committee wouldn’t have made that decision if it were his Buffaloes dealing with the same circumstances.
Sanders Tells Stephen A Ratings Matter
During a recent appearance on the “Stephen A. Smith Show,” Sanders told the legendary sports analyst that if his Buffaloes were 13-0 there’s no way they would have gotten left out of the CFP no matter what other mitigating circumstances hovered over their team.
“Coach Mike Norvell coached his butt off, and we can’t take nothing away from him,” Sanders said. “But the real question that you have is would you have left me out of the college playoffs? Ain’t no way in the world. We’re box office. You got to see this unless you’re crazy. I wish I had the problems that coach Norvell has.”
Sanders is correct his Colorado team doesn’t get left out if they have the same credentials that FSU had. That’s solely because of him and popularity that is him. This season alone the Buffs had six of the 50 most-watched games of the season, four of the top 20 and two of the top ten. That’s definitely box office and because of Sanders, so for that reason alone they’d be in.
Move To Big 12 Should Net Buffs Even More Exposure
With the conference losing traditional powers Texas and Oklahoma next season, the arrival of Coach Prime and Colorado is right on time. They also added UCF, Cincinnati, BYU and Houston, but the key get was adding Colorado. With that the conference as a whole is expected to a see a 1-3 percent increase in value. It will also help the conference with local viewership, which is something that could’ve faltered pretty heavily with Texas and Oklahoma departing for the SEC.
Also, with the additions to the Buffaloes roster, moving to the Big 12 should really bode well for their chances to possibly win the conference in year one. That’s something that was extremely far-fetched in the now-defunct but much tougher Pac-12 conference.
