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Deion Sanders sticks with Colorado football? Keep an eye out for Coach Prime bags

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Deion Sanders sticks with Colorado football? Keep an eye out for Coach Prime bags

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  • Here’s the next question now that we know Deion Sanders passes the test. Can he maintain success in Colorado? Does he even have that desire?
  • Deion Sanders’ recruiting class ranks last in the Big 12. Is that evidence that he will live in the portal permanently, or a sign that he only has one foot out the door?
  • Ole Miss’ football schedule isn’t as much of an issue as the offensive line.

Deion Sanders’ luggage certainly looks chic.

Louis Vuitton, he called it, and it comes with a nice set of wheels.

The stars Sanders packed up and brought from Jackson State to Colorado proved they can excel anywhere. Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders helped Coach Prime answer the question of whether he can win at this level.

He can, and he has.

“I’m so excited,” Sanders said Saturday after his team’s 48-21 victory over Central Florida, which left Colorado in a tie for first place in the Big 12 standings. “You have no idea.”

So here’s the next question now that we know Sanders succeeds.

Can he maintain success in Colorado? Does he even have that desire?

Sanders is acting like he plans to live out of his suitcase rather than unpack and settle down.

Yes, I know he said he plans to coach Colorado for at least 10 seasons and doesn’t want an NFL job. He also once said God called him to coach Jackson State, and he vowed on “60 Minutes” to “change the perspective of HBCU football.” He did that briefly, until someone else called. Colorado was on the line. He grabbed his luggage and left.

And I don’t blame Sanders for accepting a better job and a higher salary, but it’s what you say and it’s what you do.

And Sanders’ actions make him a flight risk.

Check out Colorado’s recruiting course. It ranks last in the Big 12 in the 247Sports Composite. Only eight prospects are committed to the class. He recruits (or rather doesn’t recruit) as someone who plans to vamoose.

Because Sanders has plenty to sell if he feels like recruiting. He is 8-9 in Colorado, including 4-1 this season.

If you don’t find that commendable, you’ve forgotten the dustbin this program lived in before Sanders arrived. Colorado joined Northwestern in 2022 as the worst Bowl Subdivisions program in the country. Colorado hired Sanders to spruce things up. Did he ever.

That makes Colorado’s stalled recruitment all the more remarkable. Sanders should have no trouble selling his vision to high school students.

Sanders has lived out of the transfer portal for the past two years. His strategy fared better than many expected.

A star quarterback like Shedeur who can pass and run remains a great equalizer. He’s putting a layer of varnish on this team.

And to Prime’s credit, he improved the defense.

But how long can he keep this up?

Shedeur Sanders and Hunter will leave for the NFL after this season. Transfer of their capabilities is the exception rather than the rule. Shilo Sanders, another son of Prime, is a sixth-year senior safety. What’s stopping Prime from following his sons out the door?

The portal provides valuable tire patches for a program stuck on the shoulder, and coaches who ignore transfers are living foolishly. But building a program almost exclusively from the portal becomes a high-wire act. You can’t miss a step.

Recruiting and developing elite linemen continues to be the driving force behind championship programs. Prime knows this. If there’s one thing he’s not, it’s stupid.

I don’t think Sanders can’t recruit. Mostly I think he just doesn’t want to because why recruit at a place you don’t plan on being?

If Sanders hears another call after this season, Colorado will have gotten the full Prime experience.

Sanders set his eyes on a program that was starving for attention. His presence ensured that Colorado was not left behind in the realignment. And it’s no coincidence that Colorado’s eligibility applications soared after his freshman season. He put a spotlight on the university, and he made Colorado football fun, and students loved to have fun.

And if he packs his bags and listens to a voice from on high, Colorado would do well to hire the next Sanders, but that won’t be impossible because Coach Prime can’t be duplicated.

PRICES HOW: The best and worst of the first month of the season

BOWL PROJECTION: College football Week 5 brings change to the playoff field

Here’s what else happens in this “Topp Rope” vision of college football:

Was Ole Miss foiled by the cupcake scheme?

It’s easy to break down Mississippi’s soft schedule through the first four weeks and use that to explain the Rebels’ 20-17 loss to Kentucky, but that cupcake party didn’t cause this loss.

Ohio State opened the season with some joke foes before crushing Michigan State in their first conference game.

The Rebels opening the season against Furman wasn’t their main problem. On the contrary, Lane Kiffin’s “Portal King” strategy fell short in developing the offensive line.

Kentucky pushed Ole Miss away. If the Rebels had faced tougher opponents earlier in the season, they might have had two losses now, not one.

Emails of the week

Gary writes: You got it right the other day when you said Hugh Freeze was no longer a QB whisperer. In the Oklahoma game, he should have yelled at Payton Thorne, “Run the ball, and we’ll punt.” Thorne should never have thrown the ball for the pick-six, but that’s where coaching comes into play. You, as the coach, take charge and feed the ball.

My response: Agreed. Auburn should have run the ball.

Here’s the scenario you were referring to: Auburn led 21-16 with less than five minutes left, facing third-and-4 from the Oklahoma 43-yard line. Call a run play and one of three things happens. You get a first down, you set up fourth-and-short and go for it, or you get stuffed and punt on fourth-and-medium to pin Oklahoma deep. The one thing that wouldn’t happen: A turnover-prone quarterback throws a pick-six.

Anyway, Freeze says he came up with one of his best game plans ever during that loss. Phew. If that’s Freeze’s best plan, Auburn needs a new coach.

Burt writes: Did we see the same match? Alabama roared to a big lead at halftime. Georgia fought back and took the lead late in the game when the Alabama offense was completely shut down. Alabama was fortunate to hit a deep ball and win the game. The Alabama quarterback was completely ineffective in the second half, except for one play.

My response: We watched the same game, but you must have missed Jalen Milroe torching Georgia for 491 yards. If Milroe hadn’t been so “ineffective” as you say, he might have gone 800 yards.

Three and out

1. If Missouri wins at Texas A&M on Saturday, I’ll take the Tigers seriously as a playoff contender as Google searches spike for Eliah Drinkwitz in Gainesville, Florida. He was 15-2 the past two seasons at Missouri, and he even wears a visor like Steve Spurrier.

2. I can hear it now: In early December, when Georgia is 9-3 with losses to Alabama, Texas and Tennessee, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will quote “Sesame Street” again.

3. If you’re wondering why Chip Kelly left his coaching gig at UCLA to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, he recently provided this hint of insight into the benefits of being an assistant: “You can go to the bathroom between series if that is necessary.” For further explanation, see UCLA’s 1-3 record this season. Kelly got off the ladder in exchange for leaving a program in the toilet.

Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

The “Topp Rope” is his football column published in the USA TODAY Network.

Subscribe to read all his columns.

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