Kirk Herbstreit explains what he's looking for in Deion Sanders' first game at Colorado

Deion Sanders talks about his team like they can win the national championship, but on Saturday’s College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit explained what success really looks like for the Buffaloes in year one under Coach Prime.

The ESPN analyst admitted he hasn’t seen this level of optimism around a program like Colorado in a long time.

“Well I think what happened is the buildup and excitement in the offseason — and there’s been so much on social media — so the anticipation… I can’t remember a team that hasn’t been relevant for 20 years having so much excitement,” explained Herbstreit, crediting Sanders’ resume in the sports realm.

“And it’s because of him and what he creates and what he did as an athlete himself, what he did as a coach at Jackson State. And now, here he is at Colorado. So there’s a lot of buildup, a lot of excitement.”

Of course, you can’t talk about Colorado this season without noting their immense roster overhaul, where the Buffs added transfers at literally every single position on the football field this offseason.

“He brought in a ton of transfers. What is there, four or five guys that were on the team a year ago are still on the team this year?” asked Herbstreit.

He was close, because the answer is just 10 guys who were on scholarship last season for CU are still on the roster.

That sort of roster remodel creates concern, and so does the unknown nature of Deion Sanders as — not just a Div. I coach — but a power conference coach at one of the weaker power conference schools in the country. Plus, they open the season against the defending national runner-up.

“So I think it’s more about — people just want to see what this team is about. They want to see Coach Prime on the sidelines,” Herbstreit continued.

“And I keep trying to remind people they are playing a team that was pretty good last year, and I think they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. So they’re going to have their hands full today against TCU.”

Kirk Herbstreit is excited to see the new Colorado experiment and is definitely tempering his expectations compared to what’s been coming out of Sanders’ mouth this preseason.

The sports books certainly don’t favor the Buffaloes in their season-opener, as the Horned Frogs are slightly north of 20-point favorites at most outlets. Which makes sense for Colorado on the road against a 2022 College Football Playoff contender with a brand new roster and head coach. For what it’s worth, TCU also comes in ranked No. 17 in the country.

Kickoff is coming up at noon on the east coast, 11 a.m. in local Fort Worth, and at 10 a.m. in Boulder.