Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Here's why Deion Sanders' Colorado debut in Week 0 won't happen

Anyone who got excited earlier this week about Deion Sanders' big debut with the University of Colorado is surely disappointed when news broke on Wednesday that the Week 0 matchup against Arizona State was nixed. 

But the reason for the matchup not happening may come as a surprise.

Fans ready to see Coach Prime debut with the Buffs in Week 0 were probably skeptical when the game was called off not long after Sanders had supposedly leaked the game info to ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit. But according to 247Sports, the game hadn't actually been finalized yet.

"The Pac-12 previously applied for a waiver to play a conference game in Week 0 but that request was denied by the Football Oversight Committee, sources told 247Sports. The waiver request centered on player health and the reality of teams playing games for nine straight weeks without an open date."

The news is nothing short of disappointing for Buffs fans and pretty much any college football fan excited to see what Coach Prime can do at his new job. Colorado was in the Pac-12 basement this last season and landing Sanders--who took Jackson State from a barely-heard-of program and went 27-5 with the team over three seasons--is a huge deal. 

But even though the Week 0 game against ASU doesn't appear to be happening, there is still plenty of hype surrounding Sanders months ahead of his Colorado coaching debut. Sanders also hinted this week that former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer will be joining his coaching staff, along with former Florida State coach Willie Taggart. Sanders may need all the help he can get given Colorado's schedule for next season.

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