Progress, not a prophesy.
Deion Sanders has his second iteration of Colorado football a win from bowl eligibility a, well, a prime opportunity to notch that modest goal this weekend as Big 12 foe Cincinnati visits Folsom Field.
Lest anyone think the always-dreaming-big Coach Prime isn't thinking big picture, think again.
As the Buffaloes, 5-2 and still in contention for a Big 12 Championship berth, try to keep trampling forward with star quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way sensation Travis Hunter, Deion Sanders wants to deliver a message.
Pressure's coming. Not just for his own team but, most importantly, Coach Prime says, for the opposition.
"I don’t think you design yourself to be 5-2. You design yourself to be 7-0. If we were going to order it, that’s what we want," Sanders said when asked if his program was more or less where he wanted it at this point in the 2024 season.
"No, we’ve earned where we are. We actually feel like we’re better than what we are, because we’re just starting to see the fruit of the work and the understanding of the expectations that we have for ourselves. Not that I’m looking back, but dropping the last one at home (against Kansas State) was tremendous. We could be in a much better place, but we control our own destiny and we like that.
The Buffaloes like that because ...
"We’re going to apply pressure," Sanders matter-of-factly said, "not only to our own team and to our own coaches, but we’re going to apply pressure to opposing teams.
"Because we want to win out, and we cannot do that without winning Saturday."
Colorado already has gotten significant wins away from home, including against fellow Big 12 residents Arizona and Central Florida in commanding fashion.
Turns out, Deion Sanders believes his team mirrors his persona from his playing days in that regard.
"We like to be booed and naysayed and hated," Coach Prime said. "That turns us on. Turns us on; kind of sexy, matter of fact.
"That’s how I felt when I played. I loved to be on the road and get booed and naysayed and hated on. I think we like being the underdogs and we like being those type of people. Not that we don’t look at the betting lines or whatever, meaning underdogs away from home. But we like that, we like that. We really do."
And, just as Sanders coaches with a redolent passion, he also leans more into feel than any spreadsheet for making those tough in-game decisions.
"Who is the guy named analytics? I never met him, I never seen him, I don’t know what he looks like," Sanders said when asked about his process on fourth-down calls. "Is he a winner, is he wealthy, is he broke? Who is he?
"You gotta know your team. Forget analytics, man. You’ve got to know your team and what they’re capable of. Sometimes it’s just self-explanatory.
"You know, I wasn’t a math major in college but I was pretty smart. I’m not going to sit and do mathematics on our sideline. So when you see a flag on our sideline, that means, we get the ball right there, (Alejandro) Mata kick it from right there. I ain’t got time to be adding 40 plus seven plus 10. I ain’t got time for that."
Coach Prime does share his rationale as to why he prefers relying on Shedeur Sanders and the offense on a critical money-down rather than sending out his punt team.
"When we got to that flag, we’re probably going to go for it because punting, what does that do? Gives you an extra 15 yards? That’s stupid," Deion Sanders said. "Give you an extra 20 yards? That’s stupid, especially with the quarterback we have and the offensive skillset that we have. Sometimes we go for it. Sometimes (I say), ‘Nah, I don’t like the momentum. I don’t like the feeling. I don’t like the conversation I just heard. Let’s get out of it. Let’s punt the ball.’"