Source: Week 0 game nixed after Deion Sanders leak
Prime Time will have to wait.
Plans for an early sneak peek at the Deion Sanders era with a Week 0 matchup between Colorado and Arizona State to open the 2023 season have been nixed, a source told 247Sports on Wednesday. Officials stepped in and halted progress after Sanders prematurely leaked news to ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit on College GameDay. Update (12:45 p.m. ET): The Pac-12 previously applied for a waiver to play a conference game in Week 0 but that request was denied by the Football Oversight Committee, sources told 247Sports. The waiver request centered on player health and the reality of teams playing games for nine straight weeks without an open date.
Herbstreit first mentioned the game on the ESPN broadcast of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Georgia and TCU.
"(Sanders) was on GameDay with us and he actually gave us some news ... breaking news, from Prime," Herbstreit said. "They're actually not going to be opening up with (TCU). Colorado's going to open up with Arizona State in their first game, and then they're going to play TCU in their second game. Looks like they're sneaking around there a little bit, but that was just told to me from Coach Prime tonight."
The Buffaloes have been slated to kick off the 2023 season Sept. 2 at TCU in Week 1 before hosting Nebraska Sept. 9 and Colorado State Sept. 16 for Weeks 2 and 3. The move would have moved up Sanders' debut to late August against a fellow first-year head coach in Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham.
The Pac-12 approached teams with an opportunity to play Colorado in a Week 0 game to capitalize on Sanders' debut as the Buffaloes' head coach. Arizona State jumped at the opportunity, sources told 247Sports.
The Pac-12 is expected to release its conference schedule for the 2023 football season later this week.
Sanders comes to Colorado on a five-year contract worth $29.5 million following a stellar run at Jackson State. He was asked during his appearance Monday on College GameDay what he would tell his team if they were playing for a title during his tenure.
"You've got to get your main guys, they're going to have to buy in, this is how we do it and what we do ... it's the consistency that has to be established," Sanders said. "Not only on the practice field, but off the field. Those guys, you can't get here and all the sudden change. You don't want to see a different mannerism of somebody. Everybody's talking about the players, but you've got to coach the coaches too. They can't get complacent. They can't look around and start thinking about jobs and thinking about their next move. They have to be consistent as well."
After a lack of stability under recent the Mel Tucker and Karl Dorrell regimes, the Buffs seek a long-term answer under Sanders.
"I’ve liked this hire," Josh Pate said during an episode of Late Kick last month. "It’s not like anything has changed the last few days. Some of you have been rubbed the wrong way by the way he’s entered. … Some of you have looked at his resume and don’t think he deserves the job. To that, I would say get mad at Colorado, not Deion Sanders if that’s the way you feel."
Colorado has not had a winning season since 2016, when it finished the year 10-4 overall. The school is 5-19 the past two seasons, including a 1-11 showing in 2022.
Sanders comes off a successful run at FCS-Jackson State. He led his team to a 27-6 overall record, including a 12-1 showing this season that was punctuated with a win in the SWAC Championship Game.
The plans for a Week 0 game between Colorado and Arizona State have been nixed.
247sports.com
wow ....
