Deion Sanders makes CU Buffs goals absolutely clear

The Colorado Buffaloes already accomplished their public goal for the season but the objective in Boulder has changed.

At 7-2, the Buffs are going bowling this season. Deion Sanders had said in the past that the team isn’t interested in any bowl but a good one. More than that now, CU’s goal now might be the national championship.

The approach for Coach Prime can all be seen in his relationship with 99-year-old megafan Peggy Coppom. He promised the woman a bowl game, called her when the job was done then said he would try to get her a good bowl. Just one win later, eyes have widened in Boulder all the way to title talk.

“I was really dedicated to get Peggy to a bowl game,” Sanders said Tuesday at his weekly news conference in Boulder. “Now we trying to get Peggy to the game. Yeah, it was a bowl game. Now it’s the game.”

Colorado is in a good position for that too, thanks to their huge win against Texas Tech on Saturday which boosted the Buffaloes to No. 17 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff Rankings. With a new format of 12 teams, CU is just on the outside looking in at the tournament which will kick off on Dec. 20. But the new rules don’t just put a dozen teams in the field, it promises positions to all major conference winners. the Buffs are very much alive given their current number. Even more so, the Big 12 Championship Game winner is guaranteed one of the 12 spots. The final ranking that will ultimately decide the dozen comes out on Dec. 8, meaning Tuesday’s was the second of six rankings slated to be shared over the next several weeks.

To be one of the best 12 in the country, Colorado will likely need to be the best in the Big 12. It’s hard to see the Buffaloes roaming into the playoff field without winning their final three games which would mean a must-win conference title game for a playoff bid. Thanks to Iowa State and Kansas State losses the past few weeks the Buffaloes control their path.

And as of now, if Colorado keeps winning—they would be tabbed to meet Ohio State in the quarterfinal—a matchup the Buffaloes would be multiple touchdown underdogs for.

More remarkable than Colorado winning out to clinch a spot to meet the Buckeyes or their current run of form and also the help they got to put them in such a great spot is the turnaround. Just two years ago Colorado won just a single game, last year Sanders coached the team to four victories in his first season. It was a building block but a disappointment for the coach.

“We flipped the darn roster, remember?” said Sanders, who was hired in December 2022. “Remember all the changes? Yeah, we flipped the roster. That probably has a lot to do with it. We got the people that we wanted. You can’t keep forgetting: We got here in December a couple of years ago, right? That’s kind of tough. Backs were up against the wall. It was kind of tough. We flipped the darn roster, and I’m proud of them. I’m proud of these young men. I’m proud of the coaching staff. Flipped that, too.”

Needing three, and probably a fourth win, to finish the season on a seven-game win streak starts this coming Saturday against a struggling Utah team. The Utes were expected to be great this season but have dealt with a lot of injuries to their quarterbacks. Still, Utah nearly upset Big 12 top dawg BYU last week.

“You cannot take this team lightly,” Sanders said. “I don’t give a darn what their record is. As long as he’s (Kyle Whittingham) over there on that sideline, you better be prepared for a tough game. Thank God it’s at home and it’s early. I like it like that.”

The Buffs kick off at 10 a.m. and are featured on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.