What a difference a year makes! Last season, the Colorado Buffaloes were struggling to win games after a great start. But this time around, they have already surpassed last year’s total wins and are now bowl-eligible. It’s safe to say things are going well for Deion Sanders and his team and they have a legitimate shot at winning the Big 12 conference.
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The Buffs are now a top 20 team in CFB, with two Heisman contenders in Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. However, despite Coach Prime’s work as a coach, he isn’t a favorite for Coach of the Year, according to a CFB Insider.
Insider Bruce Feldman joined The Rich Eisen Show to discuss Deion Sanders’ chances of leading the Colorado Buffaloes to the College Football Playoffs. During the conversation, Bruce appreciated what Deion had achieved. However, he added that currently there are better candidates who deserve Coach of the Year honors more than Coach Prime.
Bruce named Curt Cignetti as one of the top contenders to win COTY. For the unversed, under Cignetti, the Indiana Hoosiers haven’t lost a single game this season(10-0). This achievement is even more special as the Hoosiers went 3-9 last year, even worse than the Buffs.
The insider also hailed Kalani Sitake for doing a magnificent job at BYU. Currently, under Sitake, the undefeated Cougars lead the conference and have also defeated Colorado this season.
“I think Kurt Cignetti(for COTY honors) for what he has in Indiana. (Moreover) I would say the guy who would probably win Coach of the Year in the Big 12 is Kalani Sitake. My guess is those two guys would be front-runners but Deion definitely will get consideration.”
While Deion might not get the top award, his son Shedeur Sanders and his top dual-threat player Travis Hunter are certainly favorites when it comes to clinching the Heisman Trophy.
Deion’s top two players are in Heisman consideration
Both Shedeur and Travis have not only carried their form from the last season to this season but have also improved majorly. Moreover, Bruce highlighted that this year, not a lot of young footballers have had breakout seasons. Hence, the two Colorado stars are favorites for the Heisman honors.
” You have two guys(Shedeur and Travis) who arguably could be in the Heisman top five. It’s not deep of a Heisman crop right now but a lot could change. You have Ashton Jeanty from Boise State, and Cam Ward at Miami. It’s not like ten guys right now who are having a phenomenal season right now. Those two guys I would say legitimately have a case to be top five of the Heisman race.”
While Shedeur has had a lot of success in 2024, his mate Travis Hunter currently leads the Heisman race with +100 odds, after his 99 yards and 1 TD performance against Texas Tech. Ashton Jeanty is at the 2nd spot with +300 odds, followed by Dillon Gabriel with +330, Cam Ward with +800, and Kurtis Rourke in fifth( +1500).
Shedeur occupies the eighth spot on the list with +4000 odds but as Feldman said, a lot could change as the season progresses.
