Deion Sanders Says Colorado Is 7-8 Players Away from National Title Contention

Head coach Deion Sanders suggested Friday that the Colorado Buffaloes are not too far off from being national championship contenders.

During an appearance on ESPN's First Take, Coach Prime was asked by Stephen A. Smith about getting into the national title conversation, and the Pro and College Football Hall of Famer discussed how close he believes the Buffs are:

"I don't dream or fantasize. When I do dream, I'm wide awake. Most people dream while they're asleep, I'm wide awake, because I'm up and able to go get it. So I've seen that, and I know how we'll go get it. I know how we're gonna conquer it. I know how we're gonna go do it, and we don't need much. All you recruits out there, baby, you know I ain't hard to find. I ain't hard to find. I ain't hard to find. We're about seven to eight dawgs away from just changing the game. Seven to eight."

Sanders seems to have already changed the culture at the University of Colorado, as he has the team off to a 2-0 start in his first season. The Buffaloes went 1-11 last season under Karl Dorrell and Mike Sanford.

Although he has not been a collegiate head coach for long, Sanders already has a reputation for turning things around quickly.

When Sanders arrived at FCS school Jackson State in 2020, the Tigers were coming off a 4-8 season. Jackson State went 4-3 in a COVID-shortened year under Coach Prime in 2020, followed by an 11-2 mark in 2021 and a 12-1 record last season.

A big reason for Jackson State's success was the fact that Sanders was able to secure commitments from supremely talented players who easily could have played for FBS schools had they chosen to.

Chief among them were quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who is Deion's son, and two-way superstar Travis Hunter, who was the No. 1 overall player in his recruiting class, per 247Sports.

Both Sanders and Hunter followed Prime to Colorado, and the results have already been spectacular in Boulder.

In Week 1, Colorado went on the road and beat a 17th-ranked TCU team that finished as the national runner-up last season by a 45-42 score. Then, the Buffs dominated Nebraska 36-14 in their home opener last weekend.

Sanders is an early contender for the Heisman Trophy, completing 77.5 percent of his passes for 903 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for a score.

Hunter is in the conversation as well with 14 receptions for 192 yards as a wide receiver and one interception as a cornerback.

Colorado has more than 70 new players on the roster this season, and the turnover is likely to continue in the years to come.

Based on Sanders' comments, it may not be outside the realm of possibility for Colorado to be in national championship contention in a year or two provided Coach Prime can reel in multiple 5- and 4-star prospects.

For now, Deion and Co. are focused on the 2023 season, and the Buffaloes will look to improve their record to 3-0 on Saturday night when they host the rival Colorado State Rams.

Then, the Buffs will have arguably their two toughest tests of the season in consecutive weeks when they face No. 13 Oregon on Sept. 23 and No. 5 USC on Sept. 30.