Paul Finebaum Gets Brutally Honest About Deion Sanders, Colorado's Chances Of Contending

Although Big 12 Media Days were last week, ESPN's Paul Finebaum found himself talking about Deion Sanders and Colorado on the first day of SEC media days.

Finebaum discussed the subject matter of teams that are legitimate contenders and was asked if Sanders would be able to lead Colorado to the College Football Playoff during his tenure. It is worth noting that the playoff is set to expand to 12 teams in 2024, and simply winning your conference is enough to get a team into the big dance due to automatic bids. The Buffs are also now in a Big 12 conference that isn't top-heavy as the Pac-12.

However, Finebaum revealed that not only does he think Colorado won't be contending in 2024, but that Sanders simply won't have the "patience" to build the program up to get to the point where they can contend.

“Anyone asking whether Deion Sanders and Colorado are close to the playoffs simply doesn’t understand the reality of the road,” Finebaum said on ESPN's First Take. “They’re not going to the playoffs this year, and I’m not sure Deion Sanders is ever going to get them to the playoffs, because I don’t think he has the patience to stay at Colorado long enough.

“There are so many misconceptions out there. Deion Sanders is the best salesman I’ve ever seen. I personally love the guy for what he stands for. But the program looking out has a ridiculously inflated view of itself,” Finebaum said. “I heard Shedeur Sanders, who is a fabulous quarterback, say last week, ‘We are everyone’s Super Bowl.’ Shedeur, you are not. You are an easy win nowadays. You got off to a phenomenal start last year beating a couple of mediocre teams that had big names. And quite frankly you haven’t done anything since other than crash and burn.”

Finebaum didn't stop at just calling out Sanders and the Colorado program, as he also turned his attention to fellow media members. He implored analysts around college football to stop pumping up Colorado so much, and would rather they focus on legitimate contenders.

“I know that the media loves this story. We fall all over ourselves. But Colorado isn’t important in college football. Deion Sanders is,” Finebaum said. “He’s a stand alone person. He’s one of the most charismatic people we’ve ever seen. But Colorado is nothing. They don’t matter. They’re irrelevant in the big picture of college football.”

Colorado has a tough slate to open the 2024 season as they'll be playing FCS power North Dakota State Week 1 before heading to Lincoln to take on Nebraska Week 2.

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