All Eyes on Prime Time and the Buffs

The 2023 University of Colorado Boulder football team; a year of success or a season of bust? This is yet to be determined…but undoubtedly this is still a story of hype. In the winter of 2022, after Jackson State’s turnaround 12-1 season, the University of Colorado hired the Gamecocks’ coach, eight-time pro-bowler and hall of fame player Deion Sanders as the 28th football coach in program history. Sanders, who by no means shies away from the spotlight, gracefully accepted the position and took on the role of transforming the previously 1-11 Buffaloes who had a net point per game differential of -29.1 to a hopeful Pac-12 powerhouse.

Deion Sanders knows how to make a statement. Before even stepping foot on the Colorado campus, Sanders made his winning intentions obvious and established that this season would be a family affair. Fifty-seven players on the 2022 Colorado team, unsure of playing time or unguaranteed a spot on the roster, entered the transfer portal after last season and opened up space for new players, including Deion Sanders’ two sons Shedeur and Shilo, as well as Five-Star cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter to join in the fall. Deion Sanders then recruited 51 new players via the transfer portal, with an astonishing 10 athletes coming from Deion’s old team at Jackson State University. The 2023 recruiting class consisted of Travis Hunter, a Five-Star, four Four-Stars, and 43 Three-Stars, transforming Colorado from the 64th best recruiting class in 2021 to the 29th in 2023, according to 247 Sports. Instantaneously, Sanders and his new coaching staff had football critics turning their heads about the capabilities of Colorado football.

With a preseason prediction of only 3.5 wins on the season in total, Colorado football has already defied expectations. Through just three games at the beginning of Colorado's season, Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s youngest son, has thrown for well beyond 1000 yards with a crucial upset against #17 TCU in the season opener. To go along with their game 1 upset, Colorado then won 36-14 against Nebraska and again against Colorado State in an overtime comeback victory. With these crucial wins, Colorado football demonstrated to fans that the program was here to compete, earning itself a spot in the top 25 rankings at #18 in the country.

Not only has Deion Sanders made improvements on the field for his team, but he has also brought countless new viewers to Colorado sports and unthinkable financial margins. The week three matchup alone against Colorado State accumulated 9.3 million viewers, which is ESPN’s fifth most-viewed college football game of all time. The program then beat its previous record in the next game against Oregon, making it the most viewed college football game in the 2023 season so far. With so much attention, through the first few weeks of the season, Colorado football’s advertisement revenue is now estimated to be $90.55 million, an exponential growth from previous seasons. Similarly, the Colorado team store has increased sales by 2,544% compared to this time last year, while skyrocketing 505% just after Coach Sanders was hired in the winter. The madness doesn’t stop there. In the week two Nebraska game alone, the team directly and indirectly produced $17 million in economic impact to the Boulder area. With the constant focus on Deion Sanders and the uncertainty of what he can do as a coach, Colorado has felt the influence from fans across the world, selling out all the home games this year.

The Colorado Boulder football team’s success on and off the field has already put the Buffaloes on the map for future years. Already, celebrities like The Rock, Lil Wayne, and Offset have made appearances in support of Deion and his monumental team. Now the real question still lies ahead. With their week four blowout loss against the University of Oregon 42-6, many people are skeptical of Colorado’s future. Despite their quick success within the first few weeks, Colorado was never considered a playoff caliber team or even a contender for a Pac-12 championship. Instead, they were regarded as a team that could possibly win three games. The media started to label this team with unrealistic expectations, allowing people to forget that Colorado is a team for the future, with a lot of work still needing to be done, especially to their underdeveloped offensive line. Even though Sanders and his team have dropped out of the top 25 rankings, they should feel secure for the future. As long as Colorado retains Deion Sanders as a head coach, the program can bring in high level recruits, make substantial money deals, and generate enough hype to propel Colorado football into a dominant superpower. The next few seasons are bright for Colorado football fans and the team has real possibilities of becoming a powerhouse program like Deion Sanders has set out for.

Ryan Wolff