Buffs Beat

Deion Sanders Finds Spring Game Opponent, Texas Tech Red Raiders?

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders recently suggested the idea of scrimmaging another team as a replacement for the team's spring game, and Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire offered to scrimmage Colorado on social media.

Charlie Viehl

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders recently suggested the idea of practicing and scrimmaging against another team as a replacement for college football's traditional spring game, and Texas Tech Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire is the latest coach from a Power 4 school to show interest in "Coach Prime's" new idea.

"@DeionSanders let's work on a waiver for a spring practice together and do it in Dallas at The Star! We are in!" wrote McGuire onto social media.

As the Texas Tech coach notes, both schools would have to apply for a waiver from the NCAA because a spring practice or scrimmage between two schools is not currently permitted. Additionally, would Colorado be willing to travel to Dallas, Texas, in order to make this new spring game format a reality? McGuire proposed "The Star," the Dallas Cowboys training facilities, as the destination for both teams, adding another layer to coach Sanders' original idea.

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire discusses the football team's 2025 recruiting class, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire discusses the football team's 2025 recruiting class, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at Jones AT&T Stadium. / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I would like to style it like the pros," Sanders recently said. "I'd like to go against someone [in practice] for a few days, and then you have the spring game. I think the public would be satisfied with that tremendously. . . . I've told those personnel, who should understand that, that it's a tremendous idea."

When Sanders revealed his idea, it made waves across the college football world. Syracuse coach Fran Brown was one of the first coaches to publicly support the concept of scrimmaging against another team to conclude spring practices. In fact, Brown even offered to travel to Boulder, Colorado, in order to make it happen.

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With multiple schools and coaches interested in scrimmaging Colorado and coach Sanders, how soon could this new format for a spring game become a reality? As it currently stands, Colorado's annual spring game is scheduled for April 19 and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Receiving a waiver from the NCAA is unlikely to happen in less than a month, so college football fans might have to wait until 2026 in order to see a spring game scrimmage between two different teams.

For now, "Coach Prime" is focused on the Buffaloes' upcoming spring game will follow tradition, aligning with the annual Black and Gold day. With a number of programs across the country are cancelling their spring games, coach Sanders and his team are looking for ways to keep the tradition alive.

"We've got to sell this thing out and pack this thing, because the way the trend is going, you never know if this is going to be the last spring game," Sanders said. "I don't believe in that, and I don't really want to condone that. . . . To have it competitive, and to play against your own guys, it can kind of get monotonous, and you really can't tell the level of your guys, because it's the same old same old, everybody kind of knows each other."

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Charlie Viehl
CHARLIE VIEHL

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