Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich debate Deion Sander's impact on college football

Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich of ESPN recognize the undeniable, tremendous impact Deion Sanders has made not just at Colorado, but on college football as a whole in 2023.

Joining the fun on ESPN’s Get Up on Wednesday, Finebaum kicked the debate off by making a bold claim regarding Sanders, and his growing place in the history of the sport.

“I’ve covered college football for over 40 years, and this is the biggest phenomenon I have ever seen,” Finebaum revealed. “There’s nothing even close. I mean, we’ve had flashes of great players along the way, but this has completely captured the sport for the first three weeks. It’s capturing it this weekend. Regardless of what happens in Oregon on Saturday afternoon, it’ll be right back in Boulder next week, when Caleb Williams, Lincoln Riley and USC show up.

“That’s five consecutive weeks, owning the sport. Sucking all of the oxygen out. Nick Saban is struggling and playing second fiddle. That’s how big this is.”

Of course, Sanders and the Buffaloes will face Oregon this weekend, as they begin a tough two-game stretch, with the Trojans coming to town afterwards. If they can win even one of those games, they hype will grow even larger for Sanders’ squad.

If they win both, you’re going to see a team with more hype behind it than ever. Regardless, Dinich believes Sanders is exactly the medicine college football fans needed, following some controversial decisions that have changed the sport.

“I think what college football needs right now is Deion Sanders, and this entire team. With all the off-field things going on, with NIL, conference realignment, this is the spark and the character that college football fans need,” added Dinich. “But it goes deeper than that. Deion had an impact in the conversations of Colorado eventually joining the Big 12.

“He’s had an impact on what coaches can do in their first year, using the transfer portal to transform teams. His impact is bigger than just the attention swell right now around that program.”

Alas, Sanders has put the focus back on what the sport could be, and why so many people love it in the first place. Colorado is serving as a reminder of what a tremendous leader could do, and they’re looking to continue to thrive.

They’ve truly become America’s team under Deion Sanders, but Oregon will be looking to stop all of that this weekend. We’ll see what goes down when the Ducks and Buffaloes face off on Saturday.