Op-Ed: Deion Sanders must try and move away from "Daddy Ball" narrative

Coach Prime and the Buffs need adjustments before Big 12 play

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Colorado Buffaloes can begin to calm down from the Nebraska “red nightmare” they faced less than 24 hours ago and focus on the Rocky Mountain Showdown with Colorado State. Coach Prime’s squad beat the Rams 43-35 last season, but it came with the loss of Travis Hunter who suffered a lacerated liver in the game. This year presents a different storyline for both teams. The Rams of Fort Collins haven’t tasted a series victory since Barack Obama was in office.

Will we see much of the same with CSU or will Coach Prime make adjustments?

Sanders continues to feed the Buffs fans with the notion they’ll establish the run game. However, numbers don’t lie. The Buffs ran the ball 22 times for 16 yards against the Huskers, but those rushes came late in the game once the Buffs knew a comeback was inanimate. The masses are beginning to wonder if the running backs that left the program knew something the current one is starting to understand and that is the offense revolves around Shedeur Sanders throwing the ball a majority of the time.   

Dallan Hayden and Isaiah Augustave who transferred to the program looking for more opportunities to be an integral piece to the rushing attac have fallen short in these first two weeks of the season. One of the running backs that transferred out last season, Sy’Veon Wilkerson, played with Sanders at Jackson State in 2022. To date, he’s the only 1,000-yard rusher with Sanders at quarterback. 

Coach Prime needs to refocus with Buffs and forget about personal accolades

The Buffaloes quarterback is one hell of a passer who will have a pretty good NFL career. He’ll begin to understand that playing his position means everyone must be incorporated into the success of the offense, not just the receivers because they benefit his stats. NFL players have more on the line than NIL deals, such as bonuses and contract extensions. Coach Prime won’t be able to lobby against changing out offensive linemen every season because he says they don’t block. All to shield the fact that his son often holds the ball too long to throw a pass to a receiver or check down to a running back that might be open on the play.   

This “daddy ball” experiment provided a false positive to Coach Prime, and the Buffs fans who expected to see the number of wins increase in Boulder, like he was able to do at Jackson State.  Even though the team won four games last season and beat one conference opponent, they won’t see many wins this season, if this hype train continues going down the same set of tracks. It will be a continued effort to prove all the doubters wrong. Only they know Coach Prime needs to understand there’s more to the team than his sons and Travis Hunter.