{"id":120015,"date":"2023-09-29T05:29:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T05:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/?p=120015"},"modified":"2023-09-29T05:29:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T05:29:03","slug":"cu-buffs-what-to-make-of-deion-sanders-team-after-the-loss-at-oregon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/sports\/cu-buffs-what-to-make-of-deion-sanders-team-after-the-loss-at-oregon\/","title":{"rendered":"CU Buffs: What to make of Deion Sanders’ team after the loss at Oregon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Google search for the terms \u2018Colorado,\u2019 \u2018Sanders,\u2019 and \u2018fraud\u2019 this morning required exactly 0.26 seconds to spit out a slew of results. Substitute the term \u2018overrated\u2019 into the search bar, and a whopping 0.39 seconds were needed.<\/p>\n

Anyone who witnessed the 42-6 wipeout at Oregon on Saturday would conclude Deion Sanders\u2019 team did not look worthy of a top-25 ranking, national television broadcast or an ounce of attention from the college football media machinery.<\/p>\n

Sanders himself called it a \u201cgood old-fashioned butt-kicking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Counterpoint to the criticism from beyond Boulder\u2019s borders: So what?<\/p>\n

So what if Colorado was run off the field by a better, faster, deeper team?<\/p>\n

So what if CU is no longer unbeaten, ranked in the AP poll or deserving of lofty status in the best conference in the country?<\/p>\n

That was always a bar too high for Year One of Sanders\u2019 reclamation project.<\/p>\n

Despite the unprecedented roster overhaul and the coaching staff\u2019s acumen and the skills of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the spotlight generated by an American sports icon, the Buffaloes were never going to challenge for the conference title.<\/p>\n

Not in this conference this year. The Buffaloes simply aren\u2019t good enough where it counts most — on the lines of scrimmage \u2014 to deal with the barrage of heavyweight opponents.<\/p>\n

But a non-conference schedule created years ago served as fuel for the hype train to blast out of the station.<\/p>\n

The Buffs opened with a victory at TCU, the 2022 national runners-up, and drew a massive audience on the Fox “Big Noon” broadcast. Then came another Fox appearance in the home opener against Nebraska, a big name with a small game.<\/p>\n

Had the schedule been more in line with the program\u2019s pre-Sanders trajectory — had it featured an FCS opponent in Week 1, followed by a Group of Five foe and an appearance or two on the Pac-12 Networks \u2014 the hype would have been limited.<\/p>\n

Instead, the eyes of the sport were on the Buffaloes instantly, and they remained transfixed as CU headed into an ambush Saturday afternoon in Autzen Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Buffaloes are not frauds; nor are they contenders. They are a vastly improved team that\u2019s one or two recruiting cycles from stocking the lines of scrimmage with enough size, depth and talent to contend for a conference title.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s fine. The reality doesn\u2019t diminish their entertainment value. It doesn\u2019t lower their eventual ceiling. It doesn\u2019t make Sanders any less of a coach. (The first and brightest indicator that Sanders should be taken seriously: He surrounded himself with a top-flight staff, especially offensive coordinator Sean Lewis.)<\/p>\n

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