Looking Back At Kyle Whittingham's Preseason Support Of Deion Sanders

The talk of the college football offseason aside from conference realignment and what was going to happen to the Pac-12, was Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and his approach to roster construction.

Sanders was hired as Colorado's head coach from Jackson State, inheriting a program that went 1-11 last season and finished below .500 five out of the last six seasons. He made it clear right away that he was going to be doing things differently to rebuild the program, and that he did. Sanders urged last year's Colorado players to transfer, while taking in over 50 transfer players.

The manner in which he did this went viral on separate occasions and was heavily scrutinized by coaches, fans, and analysts across college football. However, one of the few coaches who supported his new method was Utah's Kyle Whittingham. In an interview with BuffsBeat, Whittingham revealed that he felt Sanders' method made sense based on the current rules.

"It's very interesting what (Sanders) is doing," Whittingham said. "With the rules structured like they are and the program the state it was in... Why wouldn't you try something like that? It makes sense." 

Now that there is one game remaining in the regular season, it is clear Sanders' transfer portal approach worked in terms of attracting quality skill players but is severely lacking in the trenches as they are sitting at 4-7 on the year. 

On Saturday, the Utes who rank No. 17 in the country in sacks will go up against Sanders' offensive line that has given up the most sacks in the nation. The talented receivers will test them if Sanders' son and quarterback Shedeur can go, after getting banged up in their loss to Washington State.

As for how the two rosters will look, it will be a mix of Sanders' quick-fix portal attempt, and Whittingham's roster predicated on development and decimated by injury. Depending on who is playing for either team, it could either be a phenomenal season finale or an ugly game. According to ESPN, Utah is favored by 21.5 points and has a 87% chance of winning. 

Seventh