Sanders, Hunter Quiet Critics, Lead Buffaloes to Season Opening Victory Over TCU

When Shedeur Sanders had the final kneel down to cement the Buffaloes' victory over the Horned Frogs, it became readily apparent that Coach Prime's raiding of the Jackson State roster will help him and his massive ego at the Power 5 level.

Before Sanders arrived in Boulder, he was a solid coach at Jackson State. In fact, Sanders amassed a 27-6 record at Jackson State and led the team to two conference titles. He then left the state of Mississippi, went to greener pastures, and took the big money from Colorado. To make matters worse, he gutted the Jackson State roster to begin his era in Boulder. 

Coach Prime also took the rest of Jackson State's assets with him to Colorado. He even bragged about it in his press conference when he was hired. He said he was bringing his own luggage and that it was "Louis [Vuitton]".

Aside from taking his two sons, one of which is a star quarterback in Shedeur Sanders, who was sensational on Saturday, and the other, starting safety Shilo Sanders, who led the defense with 10 tackles, nine solo, Prime also took two-way sensation Travis Hunter who led the Buffs receiving corps with 11 catches for 119 yards. He also had a red-zone interception on defense that thwarted an otherwise very good TCU drive. 

Hunter also showed that he is a legitimate Heisman candidate. He was on the field for virtually every snap, except special teams.

Sanders was promoting the two weapons after the game.

"We had a couple of guys who should be a front-runner for the Heisman right now," he said. "Who did that? Who did what they did today?"

Before anyone reaches for the anointing oil, remember that this is one game against an over-ranked TCU team that sports a defense that has given up 45, 65, 45, and 28 points now in their last four games dating back to last season.

TCU's No. 17 pre-season ranking was very questionable unless Max Duggan was going to somehow regain eligibility after getting cut by the Chargers. His replacement Chandler Morris had a very pedestrian game by tossing two interceptions and making bad decisions in the red zone.

Sanders, the quarterback, was precise in his passing and was brilliant. He completed 81 percent of his passes and had four receivers eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark.

The Buffs offensive line gave Shedeur Sanders all the time in the world to throw the ball and Coach Prime put everyone on notice on Tuesday that if that happened, they would have a big game offensively.

"I never feel pressure," Prime said on Tuesday. "We apply pressure. I would like to feel really good – I feel good about protecting "2" [QB Shedeur Sanders]. You protect "2" [and] give him a clean pocket, there's going to be some problems."

When Shedeur Sanders did not have a clean pocket he was equally dangerous with his legs as he scrambled to elongate the plays and find an open receiver.

Running back Dylan Edwards, in his first collegiate contest, showed why he was such a coveted prospect. The Derby, Kansas native scored four times, including three touchdown receptions. His 75-yard catch and run for a score electrified Buff Nation.

The jury is still out on a Buffaloes' defense that gave up 42 points and yielded 541 yards to the Horned Frogs. Let's see what happens when they play a talented team like Southern California or Utah. TCU was over-ranked and over-rated. I would hate to see what Caleb Williams will do to this defense.

The Buffaloes will probably be 3-0 after their first three games. They play hapless Nebraska at home next week to open up their home slate. That would be an incredible feat for a team that lost 11 of 12 games last season, but there is still a long way to go and this season is just starting.

"These young men in there right now, they believe," Deion Sanders said. "Not all of them believed before. But right now, they came up one by one, two by two, and said, 'Coach, we believe.' Now they believe. Now Boulder believes, people in the front office, people in the building, the fans, the students, now everybody wants to believe. I'm good with that. We got room."

However, the moral of the story is the Buffaloes are a better team this year than the last two years. No doubt. But, the question remains — what price did they pay to get better?

One game does not make a season. A week one win is very nice, but there is a whole season left to play. Buffs fans should be happy, but not too overconfident.