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Nebraska vs. Colorado represents clash of civilizations

Vaseline September 5, 2024

Let me say this: I don’t hate Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime. I actually find him intriguing and always entertaining. If he weren’t coaching one of Nebraska’s most hated rivals, I think we’d all enjoy watching the Coach Prime show from a distance.

I’ll take it a step further: I’ve enjoyed watching some of his coaching clips, going back to his time at Jackson State. When he talks to his teams, I see a guy who preaches old-fashioned values: hard work, accountability, do your job, no shortcuts. You can see why he was such a successful athlete in multiple sports.

But you also have to wonder what’s going on behind the scenes in Boulder. This past summer, there was the news that Coach Prime wouldn’t be making recruiting visits. At the same time, he seems to be keeping up with his schedule of business speaking engagements and TV commercials. I’m all for a guy who makes money, but that time isn’t spent building a championship program. And then there was the time his two sons who play for Colorado—quarterback Shedeur Sanders and defensive back Shilo Sanders—missed team activities to participate in a fashion show, apparently with the coach’s blessing. There seems to be a fascinating contrast between Deion Sanders, a highly successful athlete and coach (which he was at Jackson State; it remains to be seen whether he can get there at Colorado), and Coach Prime, the flashy self-promoter.

Rhule vs Prime

As Nebraska’s highly anticipated matchup with Colorado approaches, it’s hard not to notice the differences between how Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule builds his team and what we’re seeing from Deion Sanders. Rhule invests in every little detail of the program, from recruiting to player development to game planning and more. He consults with athletic director Troy Dannen on big issues like scheduling, NIL and the future of college football. He’s fully invested in building a winner in Lincoln, and it appears he’s here for the long haul.

Contrast that with the Prime approach. There was a clip circulating last fall in which Sanders appeared to not know the name of his own starting center. Players who have left the team have been critical of the way the program is run, and then those players have been harassed by members of the Sanders family. A off season report focused on the chaotic culture in Colorado’s locker room. Maybe some of these reports are exaggerated, or even untrue; maybe we’re not getting the full picture; maybe he’s running a well-oiled machine. But it’s certainly different than most of the reporting you see coming out of Lincoln.

Perhaps the most striking example of this contrast in styles can be seen when it comes to roster building. When Sanders was first hired by Colorado, he held a meeting with the team in which he sent the message that he would be bringing in new talent and that some of those players would be leaving. He wasn’t lying: since he took over as head coach, the Buffaloes have 97 total transfersThis story CBS Sports reported some eye-opening numbers: In their 2023 recruiting class (Coach Prime’s first class), he signed 72 new scholarship players, most of whom were transfers. 61% of those players have already left the program. This year alone, more than two dozen players have entered the transfer portal since it opened in April.

This approach is unheard of in the history of college football. Before the transfer portal came along a few years ago, it wasn’t even possible. From what I’ve seen on social media, Colorado fans believe their coach is a pioneer. Bringing in new talent in the form of dozens of new signings each season is the wave of the future, they claim, and Coach Prime is leading the way. Considering the Buffs finished 4-8 last season, it’s safe to say that’s still an open question.

It’s certainly not the approach Matt Rhule is taking. When he took over in Lincoln, he sent the message that everyone was welcome to stay. He’s prioritized high school recruits, bring in 59 players from high school ranks compared to 21 transfers. Plus, there’s been a lot of talk about how Nebraska ranks among the teams with the fewest players leave for the transfer gate.

In the age of the transfer portal and athletes earning money through NIL and revenue sharing, programs need to remain agile. I’m certainly not advocating a stubborn refusal to evolve and adapt. At a place like Nebraska, you have to turn over every stone to find any advantage you can. But I would much rather take the approach that Nebraska takes than what we’ve seen from Colorado under Coach Prime. Rhule is primarily interested in recruiting high school players and developing them over many years, while filling in positions of need through the portal as needed. Sanders seems content with a revolving door, cycling players and selecting talent through the transfer portal.

We’ll see how that plays out; I don’t believe it’s a recipe for long-term success. In basketball, you can add one or two impactful players and change the entire course of a season. Football requires building: building a foundation, building a culture, building a roster. Winning college football teams have never really been built any other way.

We’re going to learn a lot on Saturday

Coach Rhule was asked this week about some of the differences between the two programs, and he didn’t bite. Both coaches have been respectful to the other team heading into the game. But make no mistake: It’s impossible to miss the differences between the two as we race toward game day. The philosophies of the two coaches couldn’t be more different. It’s a true clash of civilizations; the two approaches are completely incompatible.

It will take longer than Saturday’s game to learn which one is ultimately more successful, but we will still learn a lot from the game. As I wrote in a recent article:

“Husker fans want to believe that these are two programs headed in opposite directions. Matt Rhule has built a solid foundation; his culture is built on substance, hard work, no shortcuts. Coach Prime and his revolving-transfer-portal-door of a program are all flash, capable of the occasional highlight reel, but ultimately a house built on sand, ready to crumble at the first sign of trouble. That may be true, but Nebraska has to prove it on the field.”

As always, GBR for LIFE.

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