NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Yes, I’m still all in with Colorado. Despite an extremely lucky win in Boulder for the Buffaloes against in-state rival Colorado State, the victory didn’t have the statement that Deion Sanders wanted to put forth to the country. This whole week was about taking things personally. This comes from Colorado State HC Jay Norvell’s comments about hat and glasses, two iconic things to the Deion Sanders look. With many fans wanting a massacre of Norvell and his men, it was actually Norvell who came out the better man. See Jay Norvell outside of the college football community is a nobody, a placeholder, a side character. He is our protagonist Deion Sanders’ antagonist. Jay Norvell is the villain you route against.
However in reality, here’s what he really is. He’s a knowledgeable coach whose resume has stops at Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. He was a very good head coach at Nevada and has two really good coordinators. Jay Norvell is also in his second year at Colorado State so his schemes have had a year to sink in compared to Matt Rhule or Kendal Briles, the OC at TCU. Norvell is the best strategist Colorado has seen so far and it showed.
Colorado also faced the loss of Travis Hunter who was forced to go to the hospital. A player who is a star at wide receiver and Colorado’s CB1 was no longer available to the Buffaloes and to Shedeur Sanders. Sanders rose to the occasion leading Colorado to both a game-tying drive and subsequent two-point conversion. In OT, he orchestrated two drives that ended in touchdowns. One with a PAT and the latter with another two-point conversion. Yes, in crunch time, Sanders put up 23 points in three drives.
Despite constantly getting beat underneath, Colorado’s defense held Colorado State and Matt Mumme’s Air Raid offense to seven points in the second half and also seven in two overtime periods. Now Colorado got extremely lucky. There were three plays that sunk Colorado State’s efforts. The personal fouls were bountiful for the Rams but the late hit on Sanders in OT put the fatigued offense in prime position to score. Another is to not go for two after their first overtime score. Colorado’s defense was on the ropes, your team had great penetration and it’s three yards away from a marquee win. Norvell took the PAT. The last is the decision to punt on 4th and 2 with 2:15 left on the clock up eight at the Colorado 45. A conversion would’ve essentially iced the game and a failure would’ve resulted in your defense needing to stop a TD and a two-point conversion. Colorado State’s odds of losing in regular time were virtually nothing so if there was any time to be aggressive, that was it.
In the end, conservative calls killed the Rams and sheer will saved the Buffaloes. Many will take today’s win and subsequent storming of the field as a sign that Colorado isn’t quite ready for the big time. I disagree. They’ve had two back-to-back emotional wins entering today going against a team that looked like villains and still won. That is the sign of a mature team with a veteran coaching staff. You would expect Colorado to panic and make mistakes, especially being down by 11 in the fourth at one point. They didn’t.
The Pac-12 did not put in impressive performances today. Most teams either played inferior opponents or didn’t have great games. Colorado just had their chin check and they came through. The less notable names stepped up and they’re 3-0. I’m doubling down on Colorado stock, especially with the inaccurate evaluation they’re about to get. This win sends a different message. Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes aren’t all flash. There’s substance in this team. The sky is still the limit.
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