Deion Sanders’ Colorado Debut Ended With The Buffaloes Pulling Off An Upset Against TCU

The Coach Prime era in Boulder is off to the best possible start. Deion Sanders, who made the jump to the Pac-12 last year after a stint as the head coach at Jackson State, led the Colorado Buffaloes into Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon to start their season against the 17th-ranked TCU Horn Frogs.

Despite going into the game as 20.5-point underdogs against the defending national runners-up, Colorado pulled off a gigantic upset, taking down TCU, 45-42. While TCU lost a number of key contributors from last year’s squad, the thought was that the No. 17 team in America would be able to take care of business against a Buffaloes squad that saw a gigantic roster overhaul as part of Sanders becoming their head coach.

A number of those players showed out in big ways. Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, was magnificent in his Power 5 debut, as the former Jackson State signal caller completed 38 of his 47 pass attempts for 510 yards and four touchdowns.

Four separate Buffaloes went for at least 100 yards through the air: Dylan Edwards caught five balls for 135 yards and three scores, Travis Hunter caught 11 balls for 119 yards, Xavier Weaver had six receptions for 118 yards, and Jimmy Horn Jr. went for 11 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. Weaver and Horn were transfers from South Florida, Hunter was a transfer from Jackson State, and Edwards is a true freshman.

Hunter wasn’t just an option on offense. The former No. 1 recruit in America played both ways, and was a lockdown corner for the Buffaloes defense. This included one of the best interceptions you’ll see all season, along with just generally shutting down whatever half of the field he was on.

Next up for the Buffaloes is a renewal of their longtime rivalry against Nebraska. The two teams have not played since 2019, and Colorado is currently on a two-game winning streak in the series.