Fahim ‘Coach Fah’ Nassar

The 2023-24 College Football season has returned with vigor. College Gameday is locked in every Saturday morning. Marching bands have tuned up all summer and now are ready to do musical battle in support of their focused and driven peers.

There are many storylines and angles to watch for as this year rolls in including the PAC 12 dismembering, which quarterback from last year is this year’s Heisman lock, and there are those who are also watching Coach “Prime” and his Colorado Buffaloes very carefully.

The Colorado Buffaloes have only had two winning seasons since 2013. They went 10-4 in 2016 and 4-2 in 2020, which was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Pac-12 was dissolving, and Colorado found itself looking for a comet, a fiery beacon of hope to spell this losing atmosphere.

Their comet was named Deion Sanders.

Coach “Prime” was the head coach of the Jackson State Tigers, a Historically Black university in Mississippi from 2021 to last season when he accepted his new role as head coach of the Buffaloes. In Primes’ two seasons with Jackson State, he led them to an 11-2 and 12-1 record. The Tigers were conference and division champions both years.

Colorado desperately needed pedigree. Coach Sanders had that in an abundance. Though he only had two years at Jackson State, they were accomplished ones.

One of the questions that arose during their negotiation period was the fear that he also had Shedeur Sanders, his son, play quarterback for the Buffaloes and several other transfers from Jackson State to join him in Colorado.

The move to Colorado was not without its hiccups. The HBCU community, whose football programs have been largely forgotten about on the big stage, felt slighted when the coach who brought notoriety and eyes back on HBCU football left for seemingly greener pastures. Coach Prime’s health also took several
blows recently. But he remains undaunted.

In the school’s big 45-42 upset win over last year’s BSC entrants, TCU, is any indication, Colorado will be turning heads all season. Shedeurs’ 510 yards and 4 touchdowns in the victory began talks of NFL prospect buzz. Though, the defense could have been sharper, especially in the running game, the interceptions by the defense exemplify “Primetime” ball-hawking and Coach Prime’s vintage corner play.

The season just began and there is still a way to go, and plenty of doubters along the way. There was heavy doubt that for Colorado, Coach Prime would not be enough to knock off the rust and odor of perennially last place and bring a luster to the organization that had not been there since Coach Bill McCartney’s 1987-94 run.

After one game, it seems the luster is returning. If Coach Prime and company can keep this up, it could speak volumes for the Buffaloes, college football as a whole and could very well open more coaching doors down the line.

Let us know what you thought about the Colorado Buffaloes, did you expect Coach Prime to come out of the gate successful? Let us know on @WeLikeSportzPC.

*Photo courtesy of AP News