College Football

Prime Effect: How Deion Sanders' instant success increases pressure on coaches

Updated Sep. 11, 2023 10:18 a.m. ET

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Bryan Fischer

College Football Writer

Penn State head coach James Franklin is in the second year of a 10-year contract, but he's feeling it. 

His opponent on "Big Noon Saturday" this week, Illinois' Bret Bielema, is in the first season of a new contract extension that runs through 2029. But he's feeling it.

HOW TO WATCH ‘BIG NOON KICKOFF’ THIS SATURDAY

• 10 a.m.-Noon ET: "Big Noon Kickoff" pregame show on FOX
• Noon ET: Penn State at Illinois on FOX and the FOX Sports app

After another sloppy offensive outing this past weekend, even Ohio State's Ryan Day — who was within a missed field goal of a likely national title last year — is feeling it, too. Same for Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, Oklahoma's Brent Venables, and just about all their peers (save a select few with unique circumstances).

Across college football, coaches far and wide are coming to realize there's a different kind of pressure on them now. Sure, there's always going to be an impetus to win games in a sport like this, but in 2023 there's an added presence that just keeps ratcheting up that impulse further.

That would be the intertwined man and myth named Deion Sanders, a coach who has quickly shifted the narrative well beyond Colorado and changed the very definition of what expectations are for a team — regardless of what happened last season.

It's not just that Coach Prime is winning on the big stage and doing so with the Hall of Famer's typical panache, it's that he's doing it so quickly. Worst-to-first is a thing for the NFL, not in college football. Yet here the Buffs are, fresh off a 1-11 campaign but suddenly sporting their highest ranking in the polls since 2016.

The Coach Prime effect is in full swing

Following Saturday's enthralling victory over old rival Nebraska, the Buffs are flying. No matter what other results transpired over a football weekend, it's Colorado that is the talk of the sport at every level. Sanders has not only made a formerly moribund program relevant with his words and energy, but he's also made the Buffs matter between the lines, too.

A few years ago, the Oregon Ducks used to claim that they were your favorite team's favorite team. That title has undoubtedly been transferred to the one that resides in Boulder now. 

How could it not? The head coach is a walking, talking YouTube clip. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders leads the nation in passing. Travis Hunter is averaging more than 120 snaps playing both ways and is electric no matter if he's getting touches on offense or breaking up passes on defense. There are just two programs that have a pair of Power 5 victories to their name at the moment and one of them sports the black and gold.

The revelation emanating from below the Flatirons not only grows with each passing win, but it also underscores that achieving the unthinkable will increasingly be the standard set by fan bases far and wide. College football as an enterprise is inherently irrational, but don't bet against it taking off further. After all, if one can take the worst team in FBS one year to the top 25 the next — despite zero FBS coaching experience — why can't somebody with a far deeper coaching résumé do the same?

If you think there's pressure on head coaches now, just wait until the Prime Standard™️ starts getting applied to every one of them by fan bases not just believing in what can be done to transform their fortunes, but seeing it happen at Folsom Field right now. For some, it's already starting to happen.

Franklin is in his 10th year in Happy Valley and might have his best team yet. But despite a conference title and a recent Rose Bowl win sitting in his back pocket, how many Nittany Lions fans are left with a wandering eye towards the guy leading CU if they're unable to overcome the Big Ten East and get into the College Football Playoff with this talented group that travels to Champaign on Saturday? 

How many over at Georgia Tech — in the heart of Atlanta where Prime was a two-sport star — are left to wonder 'what if" in regard to their own new coach (and alum) Brent Key should the Yellow Jackets get run over at Ole Miss in Week 3? Are Boise State fans starting to question Andy Avalos a little more entering Game 28 of his tenure given how far it seems the team is from being the consistent top-15 program it once was? 

Or how about Houston's Dana Holgorsen — already on the hot seat after a bad year in 2022 — compounding his woes by going out and losing to Rice in double overtime following multiple roster makeovers? If you thought there was pressure on the head coach going into the Big 12 before, the instant success in Boulder might well double it among a select group of powerbrokers and a school president who has publicly stated winning at UH is defined by going 10-2. 

Dating back to his very first press conference, Coach Prime kept saying he was coming. Now that he's arrived, so too has the pressure. 

Not on him or the Buffs, mind you, but on everybody else. 

Especially a number of head coaches who are either underperforming or haven't found the level of success their fan base demands. They're certainly feeling it. 

Texas, Colorado move up in RJ Young's latest Top 25

FIRST and 10

1. Is Texas back? 

That's the question left lingering in the air long after the Longhorns left Tuscaloosa still celebrating their 34-24 victory over Alabama. An outcome like what we saw on Saturday at Bryant-Denny was always part of the vision when school brass unceremoniously replaced Tom Herman with Steve Sarkisian a few years ago — but now it sure feels like reality has finally arrived for the burnt orange after a few seasons of false starts.

There's a five-star quarterback slinging passes to a loaded group of skill position players, a well-stocked defense that looked just as physical as it did fast, and, most importantly, a team that did not only challenge a dynastic stalwart in college football but asserted itself while taking home a convincing victory.

Texas' return to the top five of the polls for the first time since 2009 would indicate that the overarching answer to the question mockingly asked by so many is something that rings true. It's a long season, and we've been down this road a few times before, but there's something that felt different and tangible about this marquee win at a place where you need no more than two hands to count how many times the great Nick Saban has lost. Past editions of the Longhorns would have let the game slip away when they lost the lead in the second half, but this group did not. Instead, they responded and threw a few haymakers on the way out. That's something new to watch and not something we've seen on the 40 Acres since, perhaps, the days of a certain Vince Young striding toward an end zone.

That, more than the talent on hand or the head coach finally notching a marquee win, is what makes you think Texas is indeed back and ready for the national spotlight. It's on the Longhorns to make sure that they don't let this moment go to waste and keep the answer stuck at yes.

2. The Pac-12's magical last dance continued through Week 2, and you can't help but admire (or lament) the "Conference of Champions" seemingly saving its best for last. The league moved to 19-3 in out-of-conference play and saw a full eight teams ranked in the Top 25 come Sunday for the first time ever. Nobody else has as many wins over fellow Power 5 opposition, and the weekend's results saw Utah and Oregon both win on the road. Arizona came within a few inches of potentially doing the same at Mississippi State, too. Even Cal played a far more talented Auburn side extremely close in a tough match in Berkeley, and Arizona State held a second-half lead against Oklahoma State.

Yet nothing was more cathartic than what happened on the Palouse, as Washington State beat Wisconsin 31-22, unleashing a torrent of Cougars onto the field and leading head coach Jake Dickert to hoarsely shout that his team belongs in the Power 5.

It's all enough to evoke plenty of warm and fuzzy feelings about the state of football out West — if it weren't so sad to see happening after realignment ensured it wouldn't last.

3. As high as the Pac-12 might be riding right now, the SEC seems to be experiencing some unexpected weakness based on early returns. The league has already lost six times in out-of-conference play and has a losing record against the ACC. Prime-time matchups against stalwarts Alabama and reigning West champ LSU have underscored the mortality many of the teams have, and even unexpected struggles by those like Tennessee on Saturday have led to more questions than they'd like to be asking down South. 

Ohio State stomps Youngstown State: Kyle McCord or Devin Brown?

4. It's even harder to get a read on the Big Ten, with the limited sample size muddling the larger picture a bit more than expected. Michigan has looked solid in Jim Harbaugh's absence, but can you really tell how improved the Wolverines are with such a light slate the first month of the season? The same is somewhat true of fellow East challenger Penn State, even if Drew Allar has shown flashes prior to their much tougher challenge of going to Illinois this week. The Illini faltered on the road at Kansas on Friday to dampen the excitement of that "Big Noon" meeting, but maight rightfully still be able to claim that they have the best quarterback out of anybody in the B1G West — as long as Luke Altmyer is taking care of the football (something he did not in the loss against the Jayhawks). 

Then there's Ohio State, which does not appear to be shifting into a higher gear after showcasing some struggles in a 35-7 win over Youngstown State. The Buckeyes got Marvin Harrison Jr. going to the tune of 160 yards and two scores, but it's abundantly clear that things are not clicking as we've come to expect in Columbus. Given that the trip to Notre Dame looms in two weeks, that's not where Ryan Day and company expected to be right now.

While most everybody else besides Wisconsin took care of business beyond that, you have to single out Northwestern for an impressive second half to turn a previously close game against UTEP into a 38-7 runaway. It's the Wildcats' first win on American soil since October 2021 and doubled as the first official victory for interim coach David Braun. Given all the program has been through in just the past two months, you could certainly tell based on the players' faces at the end of the fourth quarter just how therapeutic such an outcome was.

5. One of the most impressive responses of the weekend outside of Texas may have come from Miami against the Longhorns' bitter rival Texas A&M. After the Aggies jumped out to an early lead thanks to some special teams miscues, the Hurricanes took the visitors in the NIL Bowl to town for an eventual 48-33 win. 

It wasn't just that Tyler Van Dyke was throwing the ball all over Hard Rock Stadium or that the defense started to create pressure after pressure, but it was a really impressive overall effort that we haven't seen under Mario Cristobal nor his predecessors in some time. There's still plenty of work left to be done in Coral Gables, but this group not only looks more talented than it did a year ago, but is vastly better coached. They should be 5-0 heading to face North Carolina in mid-October, and it's not a stretch to think 10-0 is in play for the visit to Florida State in November given the way Clemson (on Oct. 21 at home) has looked lately.

Perhaps while we're asking if Texas is back, the same question needs to be asked about The U.

What is the future for Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M?

6. Per the AP, Miami and FSU are both ranked for the first time since September 2017. That's somewhat hard to fathom for those who grew up in a certain age, but there's an even more notable pairing in the polls among ACC teams as Duke and North Carolina are both ranked (in football) together for the first time since 1994.

7. It was a rollercoaster past weekend for many of the Big 12 newcomers as their first official conference games inch closer and closer.

While BYU breezed to an easy win over an FCS side (Kedon Slovis finally breaking out for 348 yards in the process), both UCF and Houston saw their games go down to the wire in equally dramatic fashion. The Knights continue to have an issue with turnovers, which kept them in a close one against Boise State before the aptly named Colton Boomer booted a 40-yard winner on the blue turf as time expired to give the former Group of 5 Cinderella a win over the original BCS busters. Gus Malzahn lights up when talking about his team, but he also knows that all the little mistakes that they've been making in September could haunt them once Big 12 play begins if they don't get corrected. 

As for Houston, the Cougars fell behind by three scores early to Rice before rallying to force overtime with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Still, the Bayou Bucket wound up staying across town for the first time since 2010 once Donovan Smith's two-point conversion was broken up, leading to further questions about Dana Holgorsen's job status following a pair of less-than-stellar performances to open 2023.

Scott Satterfield is finding himself in a different stratosphere when it comes to job security after Cincinnati has impressively moved to 2-0 under his watch with a 27-21 win over Pitt that was far more one-sided in favor of the Bearcats than it seemed. The team should be 3-0 when they host Oklahoma at Nippert Stadium the week after next and have so far showcased the most balance on both sides of the ball among the four newbies to the league.

Is Caleb Williams, USC the best team in college football?

8. The Mountain West's non-conference effort continues to leave much to be desired. While UNLV wasn't expected to put up a fight at the Big House against Michigan, the fact that San Diego State was never really in it against UCLA at home was a bit more surprising. The Aztecs have been pretty good against the Pac-12 in recent years, but don't quite look as stout defensively as they were a year ago and continue to have trouble moving the ball with any sort of consistency. Things can change when league play rolls around, but this is not the vintage group you expect from Brady Hoke based on early returns.

Meanwhile, Boise State dropped a winnable game against UCF to begin the year 0-2, while Fresno State had perhaps the most unexpected dogfight of the week when Eastern Washington took them to double-overtime before the Bulldogs, fresh off that win at Purdue, secured the win. Idaho trouncing Nevada, Air Force struggling to put away Sam Houston, and Hawaii keeping FCS Albany around for three quarters further put a damper on any potential excitement for the season in the footprint.

9. The most underrated convincing win of the weekend might have been Kansas State putting up 42 on a Troy team known for a salty defense and having the second-longest winning streak coming into Week 2. The most overlooked might be Florida International winning a shootout over North Texas, 46-39. That one featured seven touchdowns and five lead changes in the second half to go along with nearly 1,100 yards of combined offense. 

10. After the first full week of the season saw nothing but the big dogs roll in college football, there were more than a few Davids that rose up to top Goliath in Week 2. In addition to the Vandals thumping the Wolf Pack in Reno 33-6 to end the night, Fordham (over Buffalo) and Southern Illinois (over Northern Illinois) both pulled FCS-over-FBS upsets over in-state rivals. The latter is particularly notable given that NIU had just beaten a Power 5 team on the road in Boston College.

However, the biggest upset on Saturday came in Des Moines as NAIA side Northwestern College knocked off an FCS opponent in Drake, 27-24 in overtime. It's rare enough for any lower-level team to even be competitive with somebody from Division I, but the Red Raiders got the job done against a program that plays roughly three levels above them in the college football pyramid.

Play of the Weekend

Double-Take from Week 2

Saturday Superlatives

Best Player: Eugene Asante, Auburn

Team of the Week: Washington State

Coach of the Week: Steve Sarkisian, Texas

Hot Seat of the Week: Dana Holgorsen, Houston

Heisman Five: 1. Caleb Williams (USC), 2. Travis Hunter (Colorado), 3. Sam Hartman (Notre Dame), 4. Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), 5. Michael Penix Jr. (Washington)

Tweet of the Week

Super 16

My ballot going into Week 3 in the FWAA/NFF Super 16 poll:

1. Florida State
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Georgia
5. USC
6. Washington
7. Notre Dame
8. Penn State
9. Colorado
10. Tennessee
11. LSU
12. Utah
13. Oregon State
14. Kansas State
15. Duke
16. Oregon

Just missed the cut: Alabama

Best of the rest: Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Duke, Washington State, North Carolina, UCLA, Iowa.

Pre-Snap Reads

Penn State at Illinois (Saturday, noon ET on FOX)

The Nittany Lions will not do anywhere close to as much window dressing on offense as Kansas, so the Illini can get back to being a little more of a challenge on the defensive side of the ball. This feels like one where PSU remains in control from start to finish, but the home side hangs around just long enough to get through the backdoor. Illinois +15

Tennessee at Florida (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET)

Which result do you want to chalk up more to 18-24-year-olds playing football, that lifeless trip to Salt Lake City from the Gators, or the Vols keeping an FCS team around in Neyland last week? We'll say the latter as Tennessee goes into Gainesville and takes care of business in the second half. Tennessee -7

San Diego State at Oregon State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1)

The Aztecs have been a bit of a bogey team for Pac-12 squads in the past, but this year's group has not resembled past editions. The Beavers are rolling and will take out some more of their conference realignment-fueled frustrations on SDSU. Oregon State -23

Washington at Michigan State (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET)

The news surrounding Mel Tucker will be the focus in East Lansing this week, adding to the task the Spartans players will have to deal with as the Huskies come to town. It's hard to see how MSU moves the ball enough to keep pace with Michael Penix Jr. and crew, who should give their future Big Ten rivals quite a workout on the backend. Washington -14.5

Colorado State at Colorado (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET)

All the pre-game shows are coming to town for this one as Coach Prime finally winds up in prime time and under the lights for the Rocky Mountain Showdown. The Buffs have a chance to put this one to bed early as they have just too much firepower for the MWC side to handle. Colorado -20.5

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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