Kenny Dillingham Opens Up About Deion Sanders’ Tough Year At Colorado

Something that's often lost in today's complicated age of college athletics, perspective remains valuable when it comes to assessing how well a head coach is performing.

Things may not be going well for coach Deion Sanders and the three-win Colorado Buffaloes at the moment, but the program is still in a far better position now than before his hiring in 2022. CU won only one game in 2022 but has since won 16 in less than three full seasons under "Coach Prime."

Ahead of Arizona State's weekend trip to Colorado, third-year Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham shared an intriguing quote about Sanders' ongoing rebuild in Boulder.

"It's pretty cool if you're looking at it from his perspective. You know, he's won 300 percent more games this year than the year before he took over? That's pretty good," Dillingham said Monday, per Arizona State. "Life's about relativity, so relative to when he took over that program, that program is 300 percent better... Just wins on the field. Sometimes, you got to put things in perspective. I think he's done a great job there."

Kenny Dillingham Talks Buzz Around Colorado

Kenny Dillingham Shares Perspective Deion Sanders Down Year Colorado Buffaloes Coach Prime Arizona State Sun Devils Football — Oct 7, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; ASU Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham leads his team onto the field to play against the Colorado Buffaloes at Mountain America Stadium. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Dillingham, who lost to Sanders' Buffs in 2023, added that despite a poor season, Colorado remains one of the most-talked about programs in college football.

"People are talking about Colorado, recruits want to go to Colorado," Dillingham said. "They've won, like I said, a high percentage of games with him than before him. He's battled a bunch, and it just shows the type of person he is. He's a fighter and a winner, and that's shown up at Colorado since he's been there."

Sanders and Dillingham both enjoyed great success last year in their second seasons at Colorado and Arizona State, respectively. Dillingham's Sun Devils won the Big 12 Conference and reached the College Football Playoff, and Colorado won nine games while producing a Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter.

Through 10 games this year, Arizona State is 7-3 overall (5-2 Big 12) despite losing quarterback Sam Leavitt to a season-ending injury late last month.

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Previewing Colorado's Week 12 Home Game Against Arizona State

Ahead of his second career start, true freshman quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis is once again the biggest story surrounding the Buffs. Lewis performed well against the West Virginia Mountaineers with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns but will face a much greater challenging in Arizona State, which has held opponents to 343.4 yards per game (seventh in Big 12).

All eyes will also be on ASU's quarterback, with Jeff Sims set to make his second career start at Folsom Field. Two years after leading the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a loss in Boulder, the veteran Sims has stepped up well for Dillingham this year. In Saturday's win over West Virginia, he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards.

Kickoff between the Buffs and Sun Devils on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. MT on ESPN2.