North Dakota State’s Marcus Gulley deflects a pass that was intended for Colorado’s Jimmy Horn Jr. during the game at Folsum Field on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
Editor’s note: This story was cross-published on the Rocky Mountain Collegian’s website, as well as in a special collaborative print edition with the Rocky Mountain Collegian in honor of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown.
At the end of season two of Deion Sanders’ docuseries “Coach Prime,” he said that 2023’s 4-8 season was one of “hope,” and that he gave football at the University of Colorado Boulder an exciting breath of fresh air.
Granted, he did take a virtually irrelevant program that hadn’t had a winning record since 2016 and made it the epicenter of American sports media- all while losing the last six games of the year and finishing 4-8.
While Coach Prime didn’t get the results he’d likely hoped for that year, his final thoughts about the season were that it was one of hope. His tone quickly shifted when he turned the page and looked forward to 2024, trademarking it as the year of “expectation.”
Two games into the season, the team looks eerily similar to last year’s operation: flashes of tremendous plays or frenzied catches, and plays that get views but don’t translate to wins.
The Buffaloes came five yards short of losing to North Dakota State on the season opener. With seconds left, NDSU quarterback Cam Miller tossed a prayer deep near the endzone, where it was eventually caught but brought down feet away from the win.
A major contributor to Colorado’s collapse last year was defensive struggles. In the first half against NDSU, the Buffs allowed twenty points off four separate scoring drives. Similar to last year, the offense must consistently keep their foot on the pedal to match the defense granting points.
The halftime adjustments made by Coach Sanders and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston showed. The Buffs were able to hold NDSU out of the endzone until nearly two minutes left in the game.
Unlike the defense alarms, the Sheduer Sanders-led offense came out sharp. They had back-to-back touchdown drives to open the season, including a 69-yard score by Jimmy Horn Jr. as CU Boulder would go on to win 31-26.
After defeating NDSU, the Buffs headed to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska for the old-head rivalry between the Buffs and promising Nebraska Corn Huskers.
Colorado went in determined to storm Lincoln and beat freshman quarterback Dylan Riola. A Shedeur Sanders-led offense took the field first and was quickly stopped by the Nebraska defense in three plays.
From that opening, Nebraska set the tone and never looked back. Throughout the game, Shedeur Sanders was under pressure and not hitting on his signature throws. The offense finished with 244 passing yards–nearly half of them to Travis Hunter–and an abysmal sixteen total rushing yards.
CU Boulder’s unpleasant loss to Nebraska revealed how fragile their game plan truly is. When our offense can’t connect, they lose.
The hot-and-cold Colorado Buffaloes came 1-1 into the great Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado State University. Last year, the players had the luxury of hosting the game while the world was watching. College Gameday, prime-time Saturday night and controversial comments by CSU’s head coach Jay Norvell set up for a historic culmination.
This time around, the inconceivable hype train following Coach Prime is less present, as the Buffs come in as seven-and-a-half point favorites, facing a 1-1 Rams team that’s coming off a foreseen 32-17 win over another in-state foe, the University of Northern Colorado.
CU Boulder will need to clean up a lot of aspects of their game to compete with the best teams in the Big 12 and to compete with CSU.
It’s true, you can never count out the Colorado Buffaloes. They’ve accomplished formidable wins– wins that make you tune back in every week– but time and time again, the Buffs come in far too confident.
The improvements start by fixing weak spots on both sides of the ball. The offense can be spectacular, but Sheduer Sanders needs more names to throw to. Hunter is a true generational talent, but no other receiver comes close to his receptions or touchdowns.
Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester can get open but struggle with consistency. The offensive game plan is so dependent on the passing threat that when it’s getting covered, they appear helpless.
The rushing option has been nonexistent, with only 75 yards through their first two games. The loss of Dylan Edwards has glared thus far in the season and the offensive line is no help. Nebraska sacked Sheduer Sanders six times.
The defense needs to step up, but the two facets that they need to improve on quickly are the secondary and stopping the run. NDSU and Nebraska ran for a combined 306 yards against Colorado, averaging a pick-up of over four yards per run.
The Buffs secondary had two poor performances to start the season, although DJ McKinney has done a good job wrapping up as he leads the team with fourteen tackles.
For 2024 being Coach Sanders’ season of “expectation,” it’s been anything but. A more applicable term should be “inconsistency.” An inconsistent offense with inconsistent play calls and game plans.
When this team is good, they are one of the most fun football teams to watch in the country. Truthfully, the guys that make up this roster, reaching their full potential could play in a bowl game, but it all starts against Colorado State.
If Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes can make a statement win in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, they can go the rest of the season one Saturday at a time and try to make the correct adjustments to return Colorado back to winning football.
Contact CU Independent guest writer Baylan Wysuph at baylan.wysuph@colorado.edu.
