CU ‘one of the great chemistry experiments in the history of the sport,’ says analyst

The Colorado football rebuild in Boulder that Deion Sanders has overseen was called “one of the great chemistry experiments in the history of the sport” by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde — who referred to Coach Prime as the most intriguing name in college football.

“This is one of the great chemistry experiments in the history of the sport,” Forde prefaced before saying, “Sanders is an unconventional hire with a high-wattage personality and Hall of Fame player cachet, and his arrival has made the Buffaloes exponentially more interesting than they had been in decades. So interesting, in fact, that Deion helped drive the biggest realignment news of the summer so far: Coach Prime was a tangible factor in the Big 12 adding Colorado as a member in 2024. Sanders has worked the biggest roster overhaul in FBS history, with 46 incoming transfers and 41 outbound players since the start of spring practice.”

There’s been a historic overhaul of the Buffaloes, and in most cases throughout history, having so many new faces typically doesn’t lead to success. What’s different about CU’s incoming transfer haul than most, though, is the number of blue-chip recruits (six) coming to Northern Colorado.

Coach Prime could prove ‘all cowboy hat and no Power Five coaching cattle’ with Colorado football, says analyst

Forde was on fire with the metaphors during his Coach Prime write-up, saying that Sanders could prove to be “all cowboy hat and no Power Five coaching cattle” during his time with Colorado football; and still draw interest en masse from the college football-viewing public.

“The networks are excited enough to give a team coming off a 1–11 season a pair of Big Noon Kickoff games on Fox and an ESPN prime-time window in the first three weeks.” Forde wrote. “Coach Prime could yet prove to be all cowboy hat and no Power 5 coaching cattle, but he’s got everyone’s attention.”

That attention will be fleeting if the Buffaloes aren’t winning games. Or, worse yet, the attention will be 100% negative, and calls for Coach Prime’s job will be incessant given his controversial and far-from-PC recruiting tactics.