Colorado head coach Deion Sanders had his team hyped and ready to play in their first game of the season on Saturday, and his pregame speech probably had a lot to do with that.
Coach Prime delivered a fiery speech in the locker room before the Buffaloes took the field for their stunning 45-42 win over TCU. He spoke to his players about worrying only about the people standing next to them and not the other team or the people who have doubted them.
“This has nothing to do with the team that’s opposing us. This is about us,” Sanders said. “This ain’t got nothing to do with the naysayers, the non-believers, the haters, the doubters. This is about us. When we started this journey we told you it was going to be trying, it was going to be tough. But you endured because it’s about us.”
Sanders almost outdid himself with his halftime speech. With Colorado leading 17-14, he urged the Buffaloes to keep the energy level up by telling them “that was the appetizer, now they’re about to get the meal.”
There are two main things Sanders is going to have to do in order to make Colorado a legitimate national championship contender — recruit and motivate. He is certainly off to a great start. The Buffaloes played inspired football, and the best recruit Sanders has ever landed showed he is more than worth the hype.
While it is too early to say how good Colorado can be, the reality is it has already matched its win total from a season ago. One incredible stat shows just how much different Sanders’ team is from the one that went 1-11 last year.
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