Is Deion Sanders’ system at Colorado built for success? Looking at the pros and cons of Coach Prime’s tenure

THE Colorado Buffaloes are undoubtedly one of the most polarizing programs in college football, but is their system actually leading to success?

Deion Sanders and his family rolled into Boulder last season, and all eyes have been on his and his sons’ success in the Big 12 .

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So far, things certainly haven’t gone to plan. The first year of the Sanders era saw Colorado finish 4-8 and well out of contention for a bowl game.

This wasn’t completely unexpected though. Sanders took over a team that finished 1-11 in 2022 and needed massive amounts of improvement to turn into a contender.

Sanders has gotten millions of eyes on a program that hasn’t won more than five games since 2016, and massive amounts of money are also flowing into the school through NIL, mainly from his son, Sheduer.

Shedeur Sanders made an instant impact with a great year at quarterback, throwing for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also managed to do this while being sacked 52 times.

However, despite Shedeur’s solid season Colorado ranked just No. 82 in total offense with 363.6 yards per game. He threw for 294.7 yards per game, but the team only ran for 68.9 yards on average to compliment that.

The Buffaloes didn’t get any help from their defense either, as they were ranked No. 130 out of 133 teams based on total yards allowed. The defense was also No. 98 in the country in points allowed at 29.6 per game.

After a three-win improvement from 2022 to 2023, Colorado still had a lot of holes to plug for the 2024 season, and Deion did what he does best to fix them. He got in the transfer portal and recruited as much as he could.

A whopping 43 players transferred to Colorado for the 2024 season, according to 247 Sports . A large emphasis of the transfer class was offensive line and defense, and it appeared to be a success in Week 1 of this season.

Colorado took home a Week 1 win against North Dakota State, allowing 26 points in the victory. Even more impressive though, was the fact that Shedeur was only sacked once in the game.

Things appeared to be on the way up until the Buffaloes travelled to Nebraska for Week 2. It had been years since Colorado lost to Nebraska, but that would change after a dominant performance by the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska won 28-10 and had a 28-0 lead at halftime. Shedeur only passed for 244 yards with one touchdown and a pick-six.

The most damning stat of the night was the sacks. After a clean Week 1, Shedeur was sacked five times in the loss and was clearly unhappy with the performance.

COLORADO’S CULTURE CONCERNS

This is where the dark side of Colorado has shown its face. While the Buffaloes are one of the most hyped-up and watched teams in college football , they appear to have a questionable culture behind the scenes.

Shedeur didn’t bother to stay on the field until the end of the game against Nebraska, leaving with two minutes left on the clock. He also appeared to blame his offensive line for the team’s poor performance, instead of focusing on himself in his postgame conference.

“How many times did [Nebraska quarterback Dylan] Raiola get touched?” Shedeur said.

“Of course when you’re able to run the ball consistently, that opens up the pass, you know?

“But it’s just like, you’ve got to understand what your team’s good at. Why would we keep running the ball when we get out there and there’s a must-get situation and we don’t get it?”

These comments come as reports recently claimed that Deion has banned the Colorado marching band from playing the school fight song, instead opting for the stadium to play Shedeur’s song, Perfect Timing.

Deion has labeled these reports as “idiotic,” but they serve as another question mark surrounding the leadership inside the locker room.

While Colorado brought in dozens and dozens of transfers this year, they also lost 16 players to the transfer portal, including a five-star prospect who didn’t hold back about the questionable leadership.

College football top 25 rankings

BELOW are the top 25 rankings of college football's best programs after Week 2

1. Georgia (2-0)
2. Texas (2-0)
3. Ohio State (2-0)
4. Alabama (2-0)
5. Ole Miss (2-0)
6. Missouri (2-0)
7. Tennessee (2-0)
8. Penn State (2-0)
9. Oregon (2-0)
10. Miami (2-0)
11. USC (2-0)
12. Utah (2-0)
13. Oklahoma State (2-0)
14. Kansas State (2-0)
15. Oklahoma (2-0)
16. LSU (1-1)
17. Michigan (1-1)
18. Notre Dame (1-1)
19. Louisville (2-0)
20. Arizona (2-0)
21. Iowa State (2-0)
22. Clemson (1-1)
23. Nebraska (2-0)
24. Boston College (2-0)
25. Northern Illinois (2-0)

Cormani McClain shared that he wanted to “be involved with a great, leading program that’s going to develop players,” and that he doesn’t “want to play for clicks.”

Colorado also does most of their recruiting in the transfer portal instead of developing high school prospects, which leads to plenty of roster turnover with players coming in and out each year.

According to 247 Sports , only 12 players committed to Colorado out of high school for the 2024 season.

Colorado has been one of the most viewed teams in the past two years, getting hours of TV coverage in the national media. However, things are starting to turn as people see more and more of the problems emerging.

Shannon Sharpe has shared criticisms of Deion and Colorado on his Nightcap podcast, and called out the team for not improving.

“I had concerns last week, and I told you I had concerns that I saw some of the same things that I saw last year that caused me to be concerned,” Sharpe said.

“They still can’t consistently rush the quarterback without sacrificing their backend and bringing in extra people. They can’t stop the run consistently; they get gashed…

“When you can’t run the football, you can’t stop the run, you can’t pressure the quarterback, you can’t protect the quarterback, tell me how you win.”

IS DEION HERE TO STAY?

Undoubtedly, Deion Sanders has brought better days to Colorado football, but the question still stands to whether or not he will leave them in a better place than where he found them.

Both of his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, as well as his protegee Travis Hunter, are set to leave the school to pursue the NFL after this season, and it is a valid thought to wonder how committed Sanders will be to the program after they aren’t on the team anymore.

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He still has three more years on his contract, but the deal is structured in a way where he would owe them money if he left.

According to BuffZone’s Brian Howell , Sanders would owe Colorado $8 million if he leaves after this season, and $5 million for any year after that.

Sanders has previously stated that he won’t leave with his sons, but he has plenty of doubters, including commentator Paul Finebaum.

“I don’t think Deion Sanders will be there next year,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show.

“This season, when they fail to get to a bowl game, he’s going to look around and try to find an exit strategy. No more Travis [Hunter]. No more Shedeur [Sanders]. What’s the motivation for him to beat himself up?

“So I think, enjoy the Deion show. It will be playing somewhere next year. It may be Off-Broadway. It may be on Broadway. But it won’t be in Boulder.”

There is still plenty of time left in the season, and Sanders is confident in his team, saying “I feel like we got the right guys,” but Colorado has a tough schedule ahead.

They have four ranked teams left on the schedule and could possibly finish below .500 once again.

Another below-.500 season would be damning for a program that is already losing its initial hype, and if Sanders jumped ship after 2024 it could crush Colorado football for years.

For now, the Sanders family still has a lot to prove, and with the clock ticking on the season, they have plenty of work to do to show they made a positive impact on the program.

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