ESPN: LeBron James, Jay-Z Didn't Attend Deion Sanders, Colorado vs. USC amid Rumors

Attendance for Saturday's showdown between USC and Colorado wasn't quite the star-studded affair it was rumored to be.

Per ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Adam Rittenberg, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and rap icon Jay-Z didn't make it to Folsom Field for the marquee matchup.

Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders said leading up to the game on the Colorado Football Coaches Show (h/t Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today) he thought "half the NBA" would be in Boulder.

Per Josh Tolle of BuffsBeat, LeBron and Bronny James, Matthew McConaughey, Jay-Z, Will Ferrell, Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg were among the celebrities expected to attend.

Bonagura and Rittenberg noted Terrell Owens, Paul Pierce, Warren Sapp, C.C. Sabathia and Kevin Garnett were among the notable athletes who did show up to the game.

Sanders has done a great job in his first season as Colorado head coach at turning the program into must-see TV. ESPN and Fox have had their Saturday pregame shows at Folsom Field a total of four times already.

Leading up to the Buffaloes' game against Colorado State on Sept. 16, The Rock and Lil Wayne were in town for the event. It's unclear if James or Jay-Z were scheduled to attend and had a late conflict, or if their attendance was merely a rumor that got out of hand.

Despite not having James and Jay-Z in the stadium, the coverage around Colorado football five games into this season represents a dramatic turnaround for a program that went 1-11 last year and has made just two bowl appearances since 2008.

The Buffaloes have lost their last two games against Oregon and USC after starting the season 3-0. They put together a valiant effort against the No. 8 Trojans in a 48-41 defeat.

Sanders is doing a great job of establishing a foundation for Colorado that the program will be able to build on going forward. Things figure to get better in the future when he has a full recruiting cycle to add more players who fit his system.