Why Deion Sanders' latest milestone in Colorado is such a big deal

The Colorado coach still asked voters not to rank his team in the top 25

Deion Sanders now has proof. His experiment in Colorado worked. He showed it Saturday night when his Colorado football team defeated Cincinnati 34-23, giving the 6-2 Buffaloes the minimum number of wins this season to qualify for a postseason bowl game.

This milestone comes just two seasons after he arrived to revive the worst college football team in America in December 2022.

“That’s not the end goal for us,” Sanders said afterwards. “This is the beginning.”

It still validates a rebuilding strategy never before seen in major college football.

∎ As head coach, he overhauled the roster with an unprecedented influx of 51 transferred scholarship players in 2023 and retained just nine returning scholarship players out of a roster limit of 85 last year.

∎ He then turned the roster around again with 39 new scholarship transfers after his team finished 4-8.

∎ He even reshuffled his coaching staff this year after his top two assistant coaches left for other jobs.

Now, after just 20 tryouts, he has indisputable evidence that the preliminary outcome he wanted was a bowl game, with even greater achievements possible this season, including a Big 12 Conference championship.

“We want so much more,” Sanders said.

What else did Deion Sanders say?

The most recent victory at sold-out Folsom Field in Boulder once again went to his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, along with two-way star Travis Hunter. Shedeur set a school record with 15 consecutive completions early in the game before completing 25 of 30 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter caught nine of those passes for a career-high 153 yards and both touchdowns. Hunter also recorded two tackles and four pass breakups on defense in his first complete game since injuring his shoulder two weeks ago.

“Travis is the best college football player in the country,” said Deion Sanders. “We all know that. Why are we even thinking about this?”

By that definition, Hunter should win the Heisman Trophy. And he could do that too. But Shedeur doesn't get nearly the same buzz as a top candidate for the award, despite being considered the NFL's top quarterback prospect.

“Obviously I just want Travis to win,” Shedeur Sanders said. “It will almost be like I won because I threw him the ball.”

Deion Sanders is urging voters not to judge his team

“Coach Prime” has his own theory about why his son isn’t paying more attention to the Heisman.

“They don’t even mention him as a Heisman,” Deion Sanders said of Shedeur. “He’s not even mentioned? Oh my God, he's my son. For this reason.”

This us-against-the-world mindset is also part of what is driving the turnaround. For this reason, Deion Sanders also urged voters not to place the Buffs in the top 25 after this win. He would rather his team feel like disrespectful underdogs hungry for more.

“We don’t even want to be ranked,” he said. “Please don’t interfere with us. We don't like that. We’d rather be in the dark, you know, and chill.”

How important is bowl eligibility for Colorado?

Prior to his arrival, Colorado was 1-11 in 2022, including 10 games in which the Buffs were beaten by at least 23 points. This will be just their third bowl game since 2007, including the pandemic year of 2020 when the Buffs were defeated in the Alamo Bowl and finished 4-2.

“It’s important for us because it’s important for the fans,” Shedeur Sanders said. He also said the Buffs are “not close” to their peak yet.

“At the moment it's just a big badge of honor, but we have bigger ambitions,” he said.

By earning bowl eligibility, Deion Sanders fulfilled a preseason promise to invite his team to a bowl game to honor their 99-year-old superfan Peggy Coppom. Sanders said she was battling COVID but was energized on the phone after the game when she was called in front of the team.

“We told her she was going to the bowl; now we want to make sure she goes to the best bowl possible,” Sanders said.

Can Colorado compete for the Big 12 title?

BYU (8-0) and Iowa State (7-0) are still undefeated, but the Buffs are a game behind them with a 4-1 record in league play. They have an off weekend next week before a Nov. 9 game at Texas Tech (5-3).

Colorado still has problems to overcome further down the road. Shedeur Sanders said he was “sick” afterward and was looking forward to recovering on the weekend off. His team also played a bit sloppy at the end, allowing Cincinnati to cut Colorado's lead to 31-23 with less than four minutes left after trailing Colorado 31-14 in the third quarter.

Two penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter also dampened Sanders' mood somewhat afterwards.

“We shouldn’t have let the game be so close,” he said.

Quarterback recruit revisits Colorado

The Buffs still only allowed one quarterback sack for the second straight game. A year ago, Colorado allowed the second-most sacks in the country with 56, which led to Shedeur ending the season with a broken back. Deion Sanders introduced a new offensive line to replace the old one.

“We’re making progress,” said offensive lineman Justin Mayers, a transfer from Texas-El Paso. “The goal is to limit the number as an O-line to zero and make a significant difference compared to last year.”

Colorado has already done this and is now entering the final month of the regular season with success. On Saturday, Sanders also had his sights set on next year. One of the top quarterback recruits in the country, Julian “JuJu” Lewis, attended the game on a recruiting visit. Lewis has committed to play in Southern California next year, but Sanders is trying to change his mind and replace Shedeur after he leaves for the NFL.

It didn't hurt that Lewis was able to watch the Buffs become bowl eligible in front of a sellout crowd (53,202) on national television (ESPN). And things could get even better from there.

“This is just the beginning of what we want here,” Sanders said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]