College Football

Skip Bayless on Colorado's opener vs. TCU: 'I don't bet against Deion Sanders'

Updated Sep. 25, 2023 9:04 p.m. ET

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The "Coach Prime" era officially begins for Colorado on Saturday as the Buffaloes will start their 2023 season as 20.5-point underdogs on the road against last year's national runner-up TCU (coverage starts at 10 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). 

Despite those odds, Skip Bayless refuses to doubt Sanders and explained why on Friday's edition of "Undisputed."

"I've said this a lot about Tom Brady on this show, there's some people in sports I don't bet against," Bayless said. "I never bet against Tom Brady. I don't bet against Deion Sanders."

Sanders initially won Bayless over when the then-superstar NFL cornerback — already well on his way to a Hall of Fame career — joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 and immediately helped America's Team win its third Super Bowl in four years.

"I'm his biggest fan," Bayless added. "I had the honor and privilege of covering him when he was a Dallas Cowboy. He changed my life when he moved from the 49ers to the Cowboys. I don't think the Cowboys win that next Super Bowl without Deion re-leveling the playing field between Dallas and San Francisco."

But Bayless also admitted that it's hard to gauge Colorado's abilities as a team, as Sanders has infamously overseen a massive roster overhaul. He is looking to turn around a Colorado program that finished 1-11 last season and were outscored by an average margin of 29.1 points per game.

Deion Sanders, Colorado open season as 20-point underdogs vs. No. 17 TCU

Instead of an early game against a mid- or lower-tier opponent like powerhouses USC, Alabama and Georgia have scheduled, Sanders' first test will come against a team that came within one game of winning the 2022 national tile.

"You have to throw all of that [inexperienced team] out cold on national TV with the eyes of the football world on you because you've drawn them," Bayless said. "You've asked for them. You've painted a bigger and bigger target on your back, because that's who he is … To be on FOX at Big Noon, this is prime time in daytime to me [and] it's because of him."

Later in the show, rapper and new "Undisputed" contributor Lil' Wayne also shared that he anticipates big things from Sanders and the new-look Buffaloes.

"Of course, I'm rooting for them every game, every single step of the way," Wayne said. "If they have anything equal to what he has in him and what he's trying to instill in them, they're going to be alright."

FINAL

CU 45 · TCU 42

NCAA FB

SPREAD

TO WIN

TOTAL

Colorado Buffaloes

CU

+21.0

+717

O 63.5

17

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU

-21.0

-1165

U 63.5

[Related: Think the Deion Sanders hype is out of control now? Wait until Colorado wins]

TCU had to replace multiple offensive pieces — namely QB Max Duggan and WR Quentin Johnston — from a team that made an unthinkable run all the way to the national championship game last season.

The Horned Frogs will be led by QB Chandler Morris, who is thought to be better than last year’s starter Duggan, and their receiver room is headlined by standout Oklahoma State transfer JP Richardson.

On the other side, the Buffaloes will be led by Sanders' son, 21-year-old Jackson State transfer Shedeur Sanders.

All eyes will be on Sanders and the Buffaloes when they take the field Saturday, but according to the first-year Colorado head coach, that's exactly what he wants.

"I never feel pressure," Coach Prime said recently. "We apply pressure."

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