CU Buffs
Op-Ed: Colorado's loss to USC was needed going into ASU and beyond
Going into the 2023 college football season, whether you thought Colorado would win less than 3 games or more than 8 games, USC was circled on the schedule. The believers of this CU Buffs team seemingly thought USC would be the game where Colorado announces their legitimacy. A large crowd of detractors believed this would be the game where Colorado gets exposed. Either way, the USC game was a definitive line in the sand. This sense of importance around the USC game only became larger after the Buffs failed to put up much of a fight against Oregon.
Another top 10 team but perceived to be lesser than when compared to USC. If the Oregon game was bad, USC would likely be worse. USC has the better QB, last year’s Heisman trophy winner Caleb Williams. The receivers are better. The running backs are better. The only area on paper where USC might not register as better than Oregon would be the defense. Which should not come as a galloping shock to anyone who follows the Pac-12.
Like most CU games this season, the pregame festivities were in full swing. Walking on the field was yet another star-studded affair. All the recurring stars were there. Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Warren Sapp, etc. In addition, there were also CU alums, Kordell Stewart and Michael Westbrook. Rapper DaBaby, NBA stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, DeSean Jackson, and even MLB pitcher CC Sebathia, were also in attendance. So, the on field experience felt very similar to if not a little crazier than normal. All indicators seemed to point to a big game against a big opponent, but a win was still not expected. The feeling from Boulder was that this game would be better than Oregon, but to drawback expectations. This is still Heisman mastermind Lincoln Riley with his stud QB, who followed him from Oklahoma.
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The game started and everything began to feel just like Oregon. A game that would need to be a shootout, if Colorado was to end up on the winning side. To be in it with this USC team, Colorado would have to be sharp on offense and go toe to toe with Williams.With a punt, a missed FG and an interception in the first 3 consecutive drives, the wind came out of Colorado’s sails real quick. Just that fast, Colorado is looking up at a 21-0 deficit. Against arguably the scariest QB in college football. By halftime Colorado was down 34-14 and it did not feel that close.
The national broadcast halftime coverage even included former college football coach Urban Meyer, claiming that in the locker room, Coach Prime might need to break some stuff. Further suggesting that despite how good everyone thinks USC is, that first half was not representative of the Colorado team we know they can be. Even this early in the Deion Sanders era. Later, another big name in college football, Joel Klatt claimed he believed that the difference between Colorado's "Jekyll and Hyde" game all came down to effort. Either way, the team that came out for that second half and the team that was down by twenty to start wasn't the same.
Colorado would proceed to mount a very unlikely comeback being down almost three touchdowns. Coach Prime's team began to play inspired football. They would go on to put up 6.3 yards per carry in the second half. A yard per carry average that Colorado, up until now, had not even come close to. Shedeur Sander would throw for almost 400 yards, including four receivers with six catches or more. Freshman wideout Omarion Miller set CU records with seven receptions, for 196 yards, and a touchdown Sanders leading this Colorado team to a noteworthy offensive output in the second half of games has almost become expected. He is without question the best clutch player in all of collegefootball. That point is not up for debate. What was not expected was the collective play of the CU defense.
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Omarion Cooper played admirably and registered the play of the game moment when he seemingly sacked Caleb Williams into next week. Jordan Domineck looked almost unblockable as he was constantly in the backfield. Four players tallying tackles for loss. Jackson St transfer S Cam’ron Silmon-Craig intercepted Williams for his first pick of the season. Roderick Ward led the team in tackles while stepping in for Shilo Sanders, who was out with a lacerated kidney.
The story on the defense that everyone is still talking about today, is the play of formerly dog-housed five-star cornerback Cormani McClain. His arrival was one significant storyline, with the possibility of a secondary that could boast not only two five-star CBs, but the top defender in consecutive recruiting classes. However, Cormani joined the team a tad late. He experienced what Coloradans know to be ‘elevation sickness’. All throughout fall camp the biggest question that kept getting asked is when are we going to see Cormani? With Travis Hunter out due to injury, the secondary which was a strength was now looking a little thin. In a move that had to be necessity over preference, McClain played most of the second half and was impactful, Including a timely deflected red zone pass to Brenden Rice (son of Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice) that could’ve put the game away.
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In the end, the valiant comeback attempt fell short. In a game where USC was expected (after the Oregon loss) to win by 3 touchdowns minimum, Colorado put forth an almost herculean effort in the second half only losing 48-41. While it wasn’t the statement the Buffs hoped to make, it was in fact, a statement. Almost unanimously among the national debate shows, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Colorado was not supposed to be in this game. The "Prime Squad" was staring unquestioned embarrassment square in the face and chose to change that fate. To say these Buffs are battle tested, might be a slight exaggeration. What can’t be disputed though is how they have fared against the three biggest tests on their schedule.
Against TCU, the entire CFB world was certain Colorado would get run out of Fort Worth with their tail between their legs. CU won that game. The second test was Oregon. Which went about as well as a kid who studied for the wrong test. The third test being the vaunted USC. A game that anyone with a brain stem could see was a game Colorado ‘could have’ won. To quote Coach Prime, if they hadn’t “played like garbage in the first half” that USC game would have been ‘winnable’. If they could’ve done in the first half what they did in the second half, that would have been a completely different game. Shedeur was in ‘Brady Mode’ again. The running backs were making gains. The defense was getting stops.
Finally, on a day when CU did not have Hunter, Xavier Weaver wasn’t having his best game, and Jimmy Horn Jr was doing what he could to move the sticks, USC had no answer for Miller. That game was a tale of two halves, but it also shed light on what this 2023 Colorado Buffaloes team can be, right now. Not after another recruiting cycle, right now. Shedeur is, as the kids would say, HIM. Every year we hear the term “NFL ready”. Sanders will be in Boulder through the 2024 season, but that notwithstanding, Sanders is the most NFL ready QB in all of college football, again, right now. Williams might win the Heisman again, he will go as the top overall pick in the NFL draft, but make no mistake about it. Sanders has shown Sundays are for him in the future.
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With Anthony Hankerson’s production vs USC, one could argue that CU has a three-headed monster at RB and that’s before even mentioning Alton McCaskill. Who still doesn’t look to be at 100 percent healthy. When Hunter returns, Xavier Weaver, Jimmy Horn Jr, and now Omarion Miller look like they could be the best all around group of receivers in the Power Five. The offensive line is not small but has been the weak link in multiple games. They're now missing Savion Washington, who Coach Prime said was out with an injury and the NCAA shutting the door on Tyler Brown is proving to be worse than expected for CU's O-line. In the second half against USC, they looked a lot more like a unit offive instead of separate offensive lineman working without a center of direction. The defensive front seven is improving with every game. The return of Travis Jay could even help that further. Even without Hunter, the secondary still looks like a strength. Getting back a healthy Shilo Sanders and Myles Slusher should also be welcome news against ASU. Both were back in practice this week and are expected to play.
Despite what the national media spent the entire offseason spinning, Colorado is a legitimate Power five team right now. Are they college football playoff worthy? Not yet. We’ll have to see how the rest of the landscape looks in a month or so. In a college football world where programs like Oregon State, Ole Miss, Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee and even a down LSU are unquestioned as to whether they belong in conversations about good or top Power 5 teams, so does Colorado. Like it or not, Deion Sanders, the coach that left the FCS, is cooking in the Power Five and about to get comfortable. People said he wouldn’t be successful, but that noise is pretty much the sound of the world's smallest violin right now. Hunter, Silmon-Craig, and both Sanders' brothers left the FCS for the Power Five. Where almost everyone with a voice said, they would fail under the pressure and competition level. Five games into the season and Shedeur is a top three QB in the country. Hunter is arguably the best all-around player in college football. Silmon-Craig leads the Pac-12 in interceptions. And yet, they were all told they couldn’t compete at this level.
In about four months’ time, we will begin to hear about early signings and the announcement of CU's 2024 recruiting class. How the remainder of this season goes will impact who's coming to Boulder. This Colorado team gets their fair share of hate and pessimism. That is almost completely because Coach Prime does things differently. But his plans for the future is exactly why we’re here and why the outlook for next season feels almost irrationally good.
Sanders flipped Hunter from Florida State when he was at Jackson State. Everyone said the nation's top player was crazy. He then flipped McClain from Miami. Brace yourself, because whether it’s the surprising (to some) early success, the flood of celebrities to CU games, the national TV coverage, or the constant media attention, Sanders isgoing to start pulling in Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio St level offensive and defensive lineman. And it’s going to happen immediately.
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In just the last ten days, Coach Prime has had successful visits from the No. 1 recruit in the country regardless of position (he just so happens to be QB1 for 2025 for after Shedeur goes to the NFL). The #2 offensive tackle in the country (2024 recruiting class). A top five running back in the country. As well as reports that Aaron Butler, Coach Prime top receiver commit, has opted to forgo the remaining five games of his high school senior season so he can focus on graduating early so he can enroll and join the Buffs around four months earlier than expected.
As Coach Prime said following the USC game: “If you can’t see what’s coming with CU Football, you’ve lost your mind. You’re just a flat-out hater. If you can’t see what’s going on and what’s going to transpire over the next several months. Something’s wrong with you.” Sanders has said since the beginning, they were going to compete immediately. He built the best coaching staff in college football and flipped 90 percent of a 1-11 roster in one cycle. They have since gone on to have the most-viewed games in the country. They’ve beaten two teams and almost no one outside Boulder gave them a chance to win. They got worked by one team everyone thought expected to win. They almost were in a position to beat a team some people believe has CFB Playoff chances.
Up next is a stretch of Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon State, and Arizona before finishing the season with Washington State and Utah (two teams currently in the top 15). One is left to ponder, what happens to all these narratives if Colorado is 8-2 going into the games against Washington State and Utah?
If Coach Prime’s Buffaloes are anywhere north of eight wins by season’s end, Deion Sanders will bring in a top 10, maybe even top five recruiting class. All with the Buffs going to the Big 12. When that happens, the entire world will be reminded of Coach Prime’s best CU soundbite to date. “One thing I can say honestly and candidly… you better get me right now. This is the worst we’re goingto be. You better get me right now.”
