College football fans are witnessing a whole new side of the Colorado Buffaloes compared to the 2023 season. From being a 4-8 team last year, the Buffaloes have already secured 5 wins out of their total 7 games. With stars like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes have been leading a spectacular offense along with a standout defense, which has naturally caught the attention of Nick Saban.
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As the Buffs gear up for their next game against the Cincinnati Bears on October 26th, the former Alabama head coach asserted that Deion Sanders’ team would be one to watch out for. Saban and Prime apparently had a conversation earlier, during which Sanders told the former coach that he has the weapons he needs to win games: his two coordinators for both sides of the ball.
“One of the things that Deion told me this summer was that he finally had two coordinators, offensive and defensive coordinators, Pat Shurmur and Robert Livingston, that believed like he believed. And they were going to go do the things that he wanted to do on both offensive and defensive,” Saban expressed on College Gameday.
Nick Saban on the Big 12
“I think the team to watch out for is Colorado”
“One of the things that Deion told me this summer was he finally had 2 coordinators that believe like he believe” pic.twitter.com/C8oZRYcFG7
— We Coming (@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) October 26, 2024
Both Robert Livingston and Pat Shurmur joined the team in 2024 after the team’s previous DC and OC, Charles Kelly and Sean Lewis, were released due to mutually conflicting opinions. While Kelly left the position to become co-defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Auburn University, Lewis ended up taking the head coaching job at San Diego State University.
That said, Saban certainly appreciates the changes that were made, especially considering that just a few weeks ago he had a different opinion about the Buffaloes altogether. In an episode of College GameDay, he picked the UCF Knights over Deion’s team—something that even surprised his wife, Terry.
“Against our good friend, Deion [Sanders]? Really?” she was heard saying in disbelief.
On September 29th, the Knights in shining armor faced the mighty Buffaloes in Week 5. Although UCF was expected to be a tough contender, Colorado emerged victorious, winning the game by a score of 48-21.
This win was likely the turning point for Saban, which led him to change his stance about his good friend Deion’s team.
