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September 18, 2023 By: Mark Knudson

Deion Sanders and Colorado have ‘made it personal’ for their opponents, too

Deion Sanders has brought a new edge to Colorado Buffaloes football.

But could that end up being an edge too far?

While much of the country saw the Buffs outlast their in-state rival Colorado State in double overtime on Saturday night, they also saw an ugly side of the game that Deion’s method of coaching invites and could accelerate.

Despite his claims to the contrary, Sanders’ 3-0 and nationally ranked Buffs are now among the Top 10 trash talkers in College Football.

That’s what happens when every single word an opponent says about you becomes something you can twist into some form of perceived personal insult to use as manufactured motivation for a group that has played the disrespect card from the day Deion arrived in Boulder. After beating TCU in the season opener, he told the media “We keep receipts” as if everything negative that’s said or written about his team is grounds for retaliation.

That statement is among the many things Sanders does far differently than almost all of the other coaches in College Football. It’s an attitude rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Witness what happened Saturday night in Boulder.

CSU Coach Jay Norvell was asked during the week about Sanders wearing sunglasses (and often times a hooded sweatshirt) indoors when he talks to media. Norvell’s response was that he removes his hat and sunglasses when the talks to other “grown-ups” because that’s what his mother taught him to do. Of course Deion was horribly offended, and said so.

Loudly.

And he made sure his players were properly and sufficiently offended, too.

Sanders response was manufactured of course.

He’s got a lucrative endorsement deal with a sunglasses company and quipped, “They don’t realize they just helped me with business” because that’s really what he’s about, first and foremost.

Back when there used to be actual bulletin boards in locker rooms, Sanders would have been sure to plaster Norvell’s comments all over it. Nowadays he just made sure his interpretation of this heinous insult was on every player’s smartphone. The local media accused Norvell of “poking the bear.”

So the “disrespected” Buffs decided that they’d exert their perceived dominance over their in-state little brother by doing some epic trash talking during pre-game, going so far as to invade the CSU side of the field during warm ups in threatening fashion.

Perceived “Little Brother” or not, the Rams weren’t having any of it.

They reacted like many competitive groups of young athletes will do, going over the line on several occasions during the game, earning a batch of personal foul penalties in some misguided and foolish attempts at retribution.

Then guess what happened?

The Buffs fought back with stuff like an attempted eye gouging and a punch to the stomach of CSU’s QB – after the whistle on several occasions – albeit without the flurry of flags the visitors earned from the Pac 12 officiating crew.

CSU’s undisciplined play cost them dearly.

All of it marred a really entertaining double overtime game.

Too bad.

Deion has long been about the Deion brand and grabbing as much of the spotlight as he can fit himself into. So it’s no surprise that the Hall of Fame cornerback/kick returner is doing the same thing as a coach. The way he’s going about it, however, could prove detrimental if it catches on. It’s another step in the glorification of the “look at me” culture that’s infecting sports at all levels.

Team sports are supposed to be about the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. It encourages players to seek attention for themselves at the expense of the opponent – like the batter who hits a long home run, flips his bat and then trash-talks the pitcher during a slow trot around the bases. It’s bound to bring an unpleasant response…like that batter getting drilled by a pitch and potentially injured the next time he comes to bat.

In this case, the repercussions were numerous. Colorado won the game, yes…but lost their best player, Travis Hunter, to an injury that will keep him out of CU’s next three games – including against nationally ranked Oregon and USC – after a late hit.

Hunter had been one of the chief trash talkers during the pre-game dust up.

For Colorado State, the emotional response resulted in a much improved effort, but the glut of penalties – most unnecessary and ill advised – probably cost them the game. They’ll regret playing with that reduced level of composure for a long time.

Sanders has made a lot of college football people take notice already this season, and some wonder if his methods – going heavy into the Transfer Portal and getting NIL cash for players – is the wave of the future. As unpleasant as that sounds for those who have long enjoyed the fact that the college game was markedly different from it’s professional counterpart, it’s the new reality.

If Deion’s “we keep receipts” approach also expands to other coaches and programs, we’re bound to see more and more of the ugliness that marred an exciting game on Saturday, with more penalties and long term injuries to go along with it.