Deion Sanders has flipped the college football world on its head.
There is no one who draws attention quite like Prime Time.
In a weekend with conference championships and the selection of the College Football Playoff, Sanders was the nation's biggest college football story.
After Jackson State won the SWAC Championship on Saturday night, Sanders accepted the role as head football coach at the University of Colorado.
AD Rick George has named COACH PRIME @DeionSanders to be the 28th full-time head football coach at CU.
Welcome Coach Prime to Colorado!
đź“ť https://t.co/otRTjyivprpic.twitter.com/q63LyoWqSX
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) December 4, 2022
That sent shockwaves through the college football universe.
Sanders enjoyed plenty of success during his three seasons at Jackson State. He won the SWAC Championship twice, had two undefeated conference seasons and enjoyed a 27-5 record with four of those losses coming during the COVID season.
He did it by stacking talent at Jackson State never before seen at an HBCU. Sanders landed the No. 1 recruit in the nation for the 2022 class in Travis Hunter and added a multitude of Power 5 transfers.
But his record against the spread wasn't as good as some might expect. He went 6-6 against the spread during the 2022 season.
Jackson State opened the season as 8.5-point favorites over Florida A&M and beat them by 56. After that, JSU was nothing less than a 17-point favorite in the next 11 games.
Jackson State finished the season on a three-game ATS losing streak.
The Tigers are 14.5-point favorites on FanDuel against North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 15. Sanders is expected to coach the game and quarterback Shadeur Sanders has yet to enter the transfer portal despite Sanders announcing him as Colorado's next quarterback.
The spread is 16.5 at most other sportsbooks.
It's important to note, the popularity of Jackson State and the unfamiliarity of the rest of the schools in the SWAC allowed for some spreads to be inflated by the public.
Sanders now takes over a Colorado team that was 1-11 last season. To make matters worse, they were 2-10 ATS. Most of those spreads were 20+ points and they still failed to cover the majority of them.
Taking it all in. #GoBuffs | @DeionSanderspic.twitter.com/LwHkpMQZtS
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) December 4, 2022
The Buffaloes finished the season on a four-game losing streak straight-up and against the spread. Each one of those spreads was 30 or more points and they still failed to cover.
It's clear that Sanders has an uphill climb to turn around a program that had hit rock bottom. But a man of his stature and confidence relishes in those types of opportunities.
"Do I look like a man that worries about anything?" Sanders responded during his introductory press conference after a question about expectations. "… I've never been one for peer pressure, I put pressure on peers. I've never been one to worry, I make people worry. I don't get down like that, I'm too darn confident."
