Air Force and Colorado Emerge as First-Game Big Winners
Buffs and Rams Showdown Set For Saturday
Trevor Phipps
To start the month of September, Labor Day weekend kicked off the return of college football action, pigskin fans across the state have anxiously anticipated the 2023 season mainly because of the arrival of CU Head Coach and former NFL star Deion “Prime Time” Sanders.
Mr. “Prime Time” has commanded national attention and has even turned non-college football fans into big converts and believers. The Deion show will once again take center stage this weekend, as the Buffs gear up for a probable romp of the Colorado State Rams on the evening of Sept. 16. Few insiders see the Rams with any chance of an upset, with most insiders wagering odds on how bad of a massacre will occur. And yes, the mouth that won’t stop, (Mr. Prime Time) won’t run short of commentary and favorable praise for his team.
As soon as Sanders was hired at the end of the last season, he completely revamped the team’s roster with several stars from his former team at Jackson State. However, the NCAA seemed to respond and dished the CU Buffs with a super tough schedule. This made many doubt Sanders’ team prospects.
But the Buffs’ first week might have been one of their greatest challenges of the season as they took on the runner-up for the 2022 national championship. The TCU team that was ranked number 17 before the 2023 season even started. And despite what the many naysayers proclaimed; the Buffs came out of Week One with a huge upset beating TCU 45-42.
“I’m a winner and we are going to end up winning,” Sanders told reporters after the big upset win. “Ain’t none of y’all thought you were gonna be sitting up here. You are supposed to be on the other side interviewing them. Or coming up to me and asking me, ‘What happened? You said this and you said that.’ Now what? Now what? Everybody is quiet now!”
Overall, Sanders told reporters during the post-game press conference that he meant business and that his team this year is the real deal. He did say there were some things to fix on defense and special teams to make the team more successful.
But, despite what Sanders considered some issues, the Buffs actually put together one of the best games in school history. The coach’s son, Shadeur Sanders, garnered 38 completions out of 47 attempts and threw for a school record of 510 yards with four touchdowns.
“A lot of you didn’t believe in us,” Shedeur Sanders said, according to CBS Sports. “It’s crazy because you just got to understand our coach, Coach Prime, my dad. Everywhere he went, he was a winner. Every game, every opportunity, he took advantage of.”
A couple of other stars on the team also stood out during the game. Running back Dylan Edwards rushed for 24 yards with six carries and caught five passes for 135 yards including three touchdown passes.
Cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter also made headlines after the game. Hunter played over 100 snaps in the game lining up on both offense and defense. Hunter also caught 11 passes for 119 yards.
Regardless, after just Week One CU already proved that they are THE team to watch on Saturdays this year. And after their first big win the Buffs had a number 22 rank.
This Saturday the Buffs take on the Colorado State Rams at home. Next week, they hit the road to take on the tough ranked number 13 Oregon Ducks.
Air Force Comes Out Swinging in Week One
For those southern Colorado college football fans, the Air Force Falcons also put on quite a show for their first game. The Falcons started their season with a giant 42-7 win on their home turf against the Robert Morris Colonials.
For those of you like me who have never heard of Robert Morris, it is a private university located in the Pittsburgh, PA suburbs. And quite frankly the school’s football team performed like a team nobody has heard of.
The Falcons looked revved up to start their first game at Falcon Stadium on a warm summer Saturday morning. The team came out on top right off the bat and to say that the game was extremely one-sided would be an understatement.
Virtually, every time the Falcons touched the ball they scored. They did have a few blemishes on special teams with one punt receiver dropping the ball twice, but it never really seemed to hurt them.
The Falcons defense also looked stellar, but that could have been because the Colonials looked so terrible. I guess only time will tell if the Falcons are the real deal this year or if they were just playing a really poor team.
And actually, it seems like the team lucked out this year with a very easy schedule. If they can come out on top during their tough division games against teams like Wyoming and Boise State, then they will be headed to a bowl game as they have each year since 2019.
This Friday, the Falcons play Utah State at home and then next Friday they battle San Jose State on the road.
Colorado State Rams Drop Game One
Well just when I was thinking that Colorado had one of the best first weeks of college football in history, my CSU Rams had to be the one team to lose. To start the 2023 season, the Rams lost at home to Washington State 50 to 24.
And yes I realize that if you are a fellow Ram fan and reading this you are cringing like I did. But did any of us really have high expectations after their poor season last year?
To say it lightly, the Rams have some work to do this year if us fans are ever going to see them win. The good news is they didn’t lose last week, but it was their bye week.
Expect another loss this Saturday when they head to Boulder and face Prime Time’s crew. Next Saturday, the Rams have somewhat of a chance to come out on top when they take on Middle Tennessee on the road.
