Colorado names Deion Sanders as head coach
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Pete ThamelESPN
Deion Sanders will be the next coach at Colorado, the school announced on Saturday night, instantly making him one of the most compelling hires in college football this generation.
Sanders comes with just three years experience coaching college football, as he went 27-5 as Jackson State’s coach. Jackson State (12-0) completed an undefeated regular season on Saturday with a 43-24 blowout of Southern for the SWAC championship.
Sanders informed his team of his departure soon after Saturday’s win. He is still slated to coach Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 against North Carolina Central, sources told ESPN.
Sanders’ arrival delivers a much-needed adrenaline shot to a Colorado program that’s had two winning seasons since 2005 and losing seasons in five of the last six years. Since 2005, Colorado has churned through the forgettable tenures of Karl Dorrell, Mel Tucker, Mike MacIntyre, Jon Embree, Dan Hawkins and Gary Barnett.
With Sanders’ arrival, Colorado will immediately become one of the most fascinating programs in the country. He immediately becomes one of the most recognizable coaches in the sport, and Colorado’s sudden attention comes at a time when the Pac-12 is on the precipice of losing both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024. Suddenly, Colorado is a buzzy program.
Sanders is an iconic American athlete, a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame. He played in the NFL for 14 seasons, won two Super Bowls and also played for several Major League Baseball teams from 1989 through 2001. He brings credibility, charisma and deep ties in the state of Texas — where he coached in high school for seven years before Jackson State — to start a recruiting pipeline.
Sanders is a defiant extravert who has long intentionally avoided humility and sought to be the center of attention. He’s known as “Coach Prime,” and that outsized persona will be needed, as Colorado is a program with no real identity that’s badly lagging in fund raising for NIL for its athletes.
“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” Colorado AD Rick George said in a statement. “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”
To provoke change, Sanders will need to overcome the antiquated infrastructure and significant obstacles that have spiraled Colorado to college football irrelevancy.
Colorado’s strict transfer policies and lack of NIL infrastructure have been significant obstacles in recent years. Many of Colorado’s best players, including potential first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez (Oregon), left via the transfer portal after last season.
The hire of Sanders follows a trend that’s emerged in college basketball recently, with notable former players like Penny Hardaway (Memphis), Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt) and Juwan Howard (Michigan) earning high-profile positions in college basketball.
Sanders told his team in a meeting posted on-line after the game that his decision wasn’t about money — “it’s not about a bag” — but rather the chance to create opportunities for African-American coaches.
“I feel like I have to do something about it,” he said. “There’s been four or more African-American coaches at the next level that have been terminated. I haven’t heard not one other… than a candidate like myself to replace them. So to me, that’s a problem that many don’t think about. But that’s a problem, if someone doesn’t step up and step out, that’s a problem.”
Sanders added: “My challenge is still to provoke change, no matter where I am. I’m 55 and don’t plan on changing anytime soon. God made me like this, and I think God is pleased with what he created.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
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