Coach Prime’s Colorado: High Hopes, Pressure Builds As Year 2 Kicks Off

One year ago, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders (above) turned Boulder into the Hollywood of college football. Now, as the Buffaloes kick off their 2024 season Thursday, the spotlight is still shining bright, even with measured on-field expectations and continued off-field controversies. 

Colorado ended 2023 on a six-game losing streak to finish 4–8, last in the Pac-12. This season, now as a member of the expanded, 16-team Big 12, the over/under for the Buffaloes’ win total is 5.5 at most sportsbooks. Coach Prime, entering the second campaign of a five-year, $29.5 million contract, will likely need his squad to overperform to make a bowl game. But that isn’t slowing down the hype.

ESPN chose North Dakota State–Colorado, one of 21 games featuring FBS schools Thursday, to air on its flagship network Thursday night, even though it also has rights to four games involving teams ranked inside the AP Top 25 poll. It’s likely a smart decision, though. Colorado was a ratings darling in the first half of last season, routinely playing in the most-watched game of the week.

Other networks will try to cash in on the Sanders buzz while they can, too. NBC and CBS will feature Colorado in prime time for matchups against Nebraska on Sept. 7 and Colorado State on Sept. 14, respectively.

Prime Pros and Cons

In the spring, Colorado sold out of football season tickets for the second consecutive year. Before Sanders was hired, it hadn’t done so even once since 1996. The school had a record-setting 68,000 applicants for this fall semester.

But the lead-up to the football season hasn’t been all roses and butterflies. Colorado banned Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler from asking questions to Sanders and other staffers, due to what the school called “a series of sustained, personal attacks.” The athletic department cited Keeler’s use of phrases like “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” and “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” among others.

Last week, Colorado had to distance itself from former special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly’s claim that he sought NIL (name, image, and likeness) money from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, in an exclusive Front Office Sports report, sources revealed that Colorado reached out to the Pac-12 last season, alleging that Oregon had accessed its private data following a Ducks win over the Buffaloes last September.