Sanders doesn’t seem bothered by the Colorado challenge

Digital sports editor Chris Schmaedeke gives his top observation from Sunday’s biggest sports story.

It is time to switch it up this week. This space is usually about the Broncos and what happened during Sunday’s game. Well, it was the same old story for the Broncos. The offense struggled, the defense was great but gave up one costly drive, and the Broncos lost 10-9 to Ravens.

No need to go into more detail. The big story of Sunday and of the weekend was the University of Colorado hiring Deion Sanders to be their football coach. In just a couple days “Coach Prime” pumped juice into a program that has struggled for a long time. He brings energy, truth, swagger and some expectations to a program that has faded away nationally and even locally. “I’ve been to the mountaintop and they haven’t been there,” Sanders said during his introductory press conference. “I know they want to go there, but I want to go there together. My expectations exceed all.” Sanders is taking over a team that went 1-11 last season. The last time the Buffs had a winning record in a full season was 2016. Colorado also went 4-2 in the COVID season of 2020. But other than that, there hasn’t been much the last 15 years. None of that seems to bother Sanders. This is a guy who played in the NFL and MLB. This is a guy who has two Super Bowl rings and one World Series ring. This is a guy who went 27-5 as the coach at Jackson State. This is a guy who doesn’t seem to back down from anything. And that’s just what Colorado needs. Is it going to work? That remains to be seen. Sanders wants to bring in his guys, he is gonna ruffle some feathers along the way and there will be times he may seem cocky and flat-out egotistical. It could bother some people. Colorado football needs to feel a little uncomfortable. The Buffs need to hear a new voice, one that is going to tell them the truth. They are done hearing about losing. This challenge is going to be on both sides. It is going to be a challenge for Sanders to get this team back to being relevant. But it is also a challenge for the players staying in Boulder. They have to react to their new coach and deal with what “Coach Prime” brings. This should be must-see TV. And it starts immediately as the transfer portal opened Monday and National Signing Day is this month. No way this will be easy for the CU Buffs or Sanders. But that seems to be the way “Coach Prime” likes it.