02x04 - This Is Why We're Here

[bunniefuu]

[woman] So, Sam, John's here.
He's sh**ting video, right?

- Yes.
- [woman] Awesome. Thank you.

[Charles] Today we're here sh**ting
the cover for Coach Prime's book.

This is all his vision.
It's about winning on and off the field.

First shot expresses him
as a businessman,

and then we're gonna switch to the field

because obviously that's where
he's had an extreme amount of success.

[photographer] Smile.
You're about to impart all the wisdom.

But it also can be the focus
and the sharpness that we clearly see.

[Michael] I think what makes Prime
such a lightning rod for a lot of people

is they wish they could have come up
with some of the things that he says.

Like, what did he say?

"You dress good, you play good.
You play good, they pay good."

All that different stuff,
who comes up with that besides Prime?

["I Look Good" by Chalie Boy playing]

I mean, the Prime Effect
in terms of revenue has been outrageous:

$90 million
just from the attention received.

[Arielle]
This is absolutely bigger than football.

I mean, every week, you're seeing
more and more celebrities here

because they want just a piece
of what is happening.

[Dr. Rabaka]
A lot of what we consider popular culture

is really Black popular culture.

And athletes are at the heart,
so the fact that this brother is a brand

and he's larger than life
and he's energizing

the University of Colorado's
base football fan

and that they've
sold out the entire season,

it's a no-brainer.

[camera shutter clicks]

I'm me, man. I ain't no new me.

The whole country is just getting
an opportunity to see it.

[man 1]
Coach Prime.

It's official, and it has sent excitement
throughout the entire country.

[all cheering]

[man 2]
Coach Prime led Jackson State

to back-to-back undefeated
SWAC championships.

Now looking to turn around
a Colorado program

that's had two winning seasons

in the last 17 years.

[Coach Prime] This ain't last year.
This ain't an old team.

[man 3]
He's bringing Shedeur with him,

he's bringing Travis Hunter with him...

two of the biggest transfers
in the country.

[man 4] Do you know what
he said to his players?

He said, "Jump in the portal."

[man 5]
Now there's a big deal because

over 50 players
have hit the transfer portal.

[man 6]
Does anyone on this roster make it?

I need my purpose right now!
I need everything you got!

[man 7] This is the biggest experiment
that we've ever seen in college football,

and I'm excited to see what this team has.

[theme music playing]

[all cheering]

[Mark]
The crowd is on its feet.

It's sold out
for the second week in a row.

It's Colorado
in the Rocky Mountain Showdown,

taking on the CSU Rams.

Down the left-hand side,
all kinds of contact.

Oh! And a late shot that time
on Travis Hunter.

[commentator]
And he's down, Mark.

[Mark]
Yes, he is.

[Lauren]
Travis is just different.

He took his injury and, like, never,
not one time, was down or upset.

He was still at practice
cheering guys on.

It sound crazy, but him and Coach Prime
both really are very similar.

There were picking up
people around them

when we're all, like,
looking at them like,

"Y'all are the ones going through it.
Like, we feel for y'all."

And they're picking up
everybody around them.

If you don't hurry up, bro.

I need one more card.

[producer]
Look at this outfit you got on here...

ultimate lounge day, huh?

I love wearing pajamas, though, so...

I'm always in pajamas.
All my coaches know I'm always in pajamas.

After I got hit, I just couldn't breathe.

Pretty much that's it.

Just get up and get back in the game
pretty much is all I was thinking.

That's all I wanted to do is get back up
and get back in the game and play.

- Me first?
- Yeah.

[Travis] I can't describe the pain.
It was just aching, hurting.

And I know it wasn't just
getting the wind knocked out of me,

so I just knew
there was something wrong.

It was tough.
I mean, I couldn't let my team down.

I knew I had another half in me,
but the doctors at halftime,

they didn't let me
go back out there and play,

make sure I wasn't internally bleeding.

Travis always gets up.

But beginning of the fourth quarter,

they confirmed that
it was a grade II liver laceration.

And I mean, at that point,
it's just, "Okay, is he all right?"

[Travis] Going to the hospital,
I was hoping that it could be over fast

and I could just come back
and try to get in the fourth quarter,

but that wasn't the case.

It was deeper than that.

It was tough because that's probably
the best player in college football

and certainly one of your best players
on offense and defense,

which is absurd
to lose two players with one shot.

With Oregon feeling in many ways
like the first test of the season,

to not be able to have
a guy like Travis Hunter,

that's something that absolutely
changes what this team can do,

what they look like.

[GPS] You've entered the parking lot
for your destination.

Right now, we're at the hospital,
about to get some blood work

and check on the liver
and make sure everything is good.

And that's pretty much it.

It is time to talk the biggest story
in all of sports...

not just college sports,
all of sports...

Deion Sanders
and his Colorado Buffaloes.

[man]
Now we're dealing with Travis being gone.

You just don't know
how that long-term effect.

Not only do you lose him,

you lose him for
the most important stretch of your season.

[indistinct chatter]

[whistle blows]

[grunting]

[horn blows]

[man] Go get full, baby.
Go get full.

[Lauren] The mental component
of this game is huge:

anger, depression,
acceptance, all that.

And so we're starting
to get into the thick of it, though.

I mean, guys coming up with bruises,
guys coming up with organ injuries.

You know what I mean?
Lacerations and whatnot.

And so, it's tough on the body.
It's a lot.

They know as well as we do
that that comes with football.

Again, again, again, again!

The game's gonna love you.
The game's gonna hate you.

The game's gonna take care of you.
The game's gonna hurt you.

Through those tests,
you get a chance to work your character.

Ready, go!

[Andre] I think a lot of times, you know,
people say they want this

and they wanna do this, but I don't think
they really understand what it takes.

This is not a contact sport.
Basketball is a contact sport.

This is a collision sport.

[grunting]

[whistle blows]

[Shedeur]
Both of them.

[Lauren]
Both of them?

Well, this side is tight right there.

- But it's, like, just the back of my...
- [Lauren] Hold on, hold on.

We don't have a lot of depth.

Our main players, we gotta try
to keep on the field as much as we can.

You know, not only just for games,
but for practices too.

DT talking about they need a day off.
b*tch, I need a day off.

Oh, my Lord, that sh*t hurts! Oh!

[groans] Oh, my God, bro!

[groans]

We've had the luxury here to get some guys
in that are serious about football,

and they wanna play in the NFL,

which you gotta understand
about playing at that level,

your body's never
gonna feel good, ever.

Football's tough, man,
and it ain't for everybody.

I can't even. I can't grip...
I can't grip it right there.

It hurt.

[Andre]
We're having a good time right now.

We're winning.
Colorado's back on top. It's trending.

But we're not making weak men.

We gotta make sure they understand
what it takes to be on top.

[groans] Oh, sh*t!

[woman]
Okay, just head down. Good.

[groans]
I think it's gotta be popped.

Something's gotta be popped in place
or some sh*t.

[groaning]

[man] Do you wanna cut the jersey
and then just sit back?

- Is this the main source of pain?
- Right here, right here, right here.

- [Coach Prime] Morning, everybody.
- [all] Morning.

- [Coach Prime] Morning.
- [all] Morning.

- Say it like you feel it. Morning.
- [all] Morning.

Last tough work day.
Last tough work day.

Let me tell you something
about these injuries.

Some of y'all are getting a little soft
trying to tap out on me,

and I'm not going for it.

I had nine surgeries in the NFL.

The worst one probably,
I cracked my eye socket in a playoff game.

I had a sweep, a reverse jet,
jet to the left, playing against Carolina,

and they pinned my arm,
my head hit the ground,

corner of my face mask hit my eye,
and I couldn't see.

Never in my life
had to be taken off the field.

Never in my life
would I give the training staff

the audacity to come
and get me off the durn field.

I got up.

And Eric Davis, DT,
played with me in San Francisco.

He was playing for Carolina,

but I knew
he was gonna be around the pile.

I said, "ED, which way?
Which way?

Which way my bench, ED?
Which way my bench?"

He said, "To the left."
I said, "Push me there, push me there."

And he pushed me,
and I ran off the field.

Had surgery the next day.

They had to cut my uniform off
and all that surgery the next day

'cause my eye socket, they had to wait
for the swelling to go down.

But even in that,
I got up and ran off the field.

Fourteen years and nobody
never had to come get me,

so I don't really understand
the foolishness.

So my rule is, if we come out there,
you're not going back in.

There's no way you're
gonna come off the field,

and all of a sudden you're
gonna be touched by the hand of God.

So we ain't.
We ain't practice no softness.

Everything is gonna be
mental toughness.

- We good with that, guys?
- [all] Yes, sir.

- We're gonna have a great day, right?
- [all] Yes, sir.

- We're gonna have a great day, right?
- [all] Yes, sir.

- We're gonna have a great day, right?
- [all] Yes, sir.

[Romi]
In football, injury is 100%.

It's always guaranteed,
but the questions now really come down

to a little more of the Xs and Os.

Who's gonna step up
besides the playmakers?

[Jake]
It's Oregon. They are established.

I mean, this is a top-ten team
in the country.

CU is on the come-up.

[crowd cheering]

[Jake] Autzen Field is one of
the premier venues in college football.

It's just been a raucous environment.
It's tough to play in. It's loud as hell.

So, obviously, the odds
are stacked against you.

[Romi] The Pac-12 is one
of the most powerful conferences

right now in college football.

Yeah, this is gonna be a juggernaut
all the way down the stretch.

[commentator] A pitch back
and the toss up the field.

And Franklin's open.

[Romi] You have to be
not just confident in yourself,

but you have to make sure
everyone around you believes.

And it's very clear
that this team believes.

But in recent weeks,
with Travis Hunter going down,

it feels like
it's an even bigger emphasis.

Can this team maintain
throughout the season?

Can they actually pull that off
now that they're down quite a few dogs.

[Andre]
Flip it one time for them, Michelle.

This is how the Buffs eat.
This is how the Buffs eat.

Yeah.

[Carl] Coach.

All right, Coach, we got some
tomahawk prime-cut, prime-cut ribeyes.

My man!

The first time meeting Coach Prime,

you know, obviously a lot
of anticipation, a little bit of nerves.

He came in, and as he should have,
he set the bar really high.

And he let us know that, you know,
a lot of things were gonna change.

[woman]
Here you go.

[Coach Prime]
Good Lord. Chef, you ain't playing, man.

[Carl]
Not playing today, Coach.

I think Coach Prime was really
focused on us serving some food

that was really relatable and recognizable
to the guys that were coming in.

We focused on some Southern cuisine:

some Cajun, some Creole,
some barbecue.

We wanted to make sure they felt at home.

Chef does an amazing job
of meeting everyone's needs.

[Rick] Now we're serving three meals a day
and, you know, we have more Southern food

and, you know,
we're seeing some, you know,

people that are pretty excited
about what we're feeding.

We try to cook everything live here,

which means that we don't
do it all before service.

We cook it as we need it.

Keeps quality high.
Keeps product hot.

That's why we do what we do.

These athletes are training so hard,
they have to fuel their bodies

to be able to perform
at the highest level.

We definitely put
some attention to detail.

This is called Buffalo Petty.
This is how petty we are.

Look at this right here.
Excuse me, baby.

Look at that. Look.
Colors and all. Y'all see that?

We got corn
'cause we just beat Nebraska.

We want duck this week.

[Carl] We've got to give these boys
a little taste of what

they're gonna be hunting on Saturday.

So we filled our fryers
with duck fat today.

We got some wings going down,
four different flavors.

We got a house-made
sweet and sour sauce going on this duck.

And then we're gonna garnish
with a pickled blackberry

and some local microgreens.

If you play football,
you cannot eat chicken.

You need to be eatin' duck.

It's hunting season.
That's why.

I like this. Chef's nuts.
Chef needs a raise, bro.

[hip hop music playing]

[Dylan] I think people definitely thought
we were not as good as we were.

They were calling us small
and stuff like that.

But we came in with the mentality
to get the win.

I got a little feel
of big time football before.

I played in the SCC at South Carolina,
and we had a lot of fans there.

But here, Colorado fans,

they're experiencing something
that they haven't had in a long time,

which is, you know,
excitement from winning games.

And football brings a lot of excitement
to this city, to this world,

because it's entertainment
at the end of the day.

[indistinct chatter]

We talk about the belief, right?

It was coming in here
and showing we can get this done.

We can get this done now.

And guess what we've done.
We've brought 60 Minutes.

We've brought Game Day.
We've brought Fox Kickoff.

And so these kids,
you gotta keep them focused,

so they can't sit
where they are right now.

You can't stay here.
You gotta keep moving forward.

And if they do that,
they get better and better,

and they start to believe in the vision

because they start to see
how the wins rack up.

Let me sit here and visualize
my plays I'm gonna make.

So it's not "um." It's...

[both] Om.

Okay.

[Andre] Bishop, before every game,
he goes to the end zone

and he does his Zen meditation sh*t.

He's the calmest I've ever seen him.

And he gets in the game,
none of that sh*t works.

He gets penalties. He's wild.
He's taking his helmet off.

I don't know what that
transformation is that he's doing.

I'm not sure what's going on with Bishop.

[Mark] Talent is a baseline
when you get to college

and you get to this level
because when you get here,

everybody has talent.

And what then becomes important
is the attention to detail.

I think that process of learning and
understanding what it takes to be great

along with just being talented,

which are two different things,
by the way,

when you marry the two,
that's a magical thing.

Some look up to heroes.
I always wanted to be a villain.

But tomorrow we get to be the villain.

You should always be the villain
in your head.

It's they spot.

You're never the hero.

The villains be having good agendas,
though. They're just misunderstood.

[Bishop] Yeah, you're right.
I've been the villain my whole life, cuz.

[Mark] Number ten Oregon
and number 19 Colorado

here in Eugene, Oregon,
in a Pac-12 conference showdown.

[crowd cheering]

[Coach Prime] We're gonna win the play.
We're gonna win the series.

We're gonna win the quarter.
We're gonna win the half.

Then we're gonna do it again,
and then we're gonna win the game.

The Cinderella story
is over, man. Right?

They're fighting for clicks.
We're fighting for wins.

Now, there's a difference. Let's go!

[cheering and applause]

[Mark]
A lot of talk before this ballgame

about Colorado not having
its most dynamic player, Travis Hunter.

Make 'em believe.

[Mark] From the 27,
inside and out taken by Bucky Irving.

Broke a tackle
and then he stepped out of another one.

Picks up the first down.

Bo Nix dumps it out of the backfield.

Catch on the near side
and blockers out in front.

Running inside.

That ends up being another first down,
a gain of 19 yards.

Be physical! Quit bailing!
Be physical!

[Mark]
And another first down.

On the opening drive, the phrase
"hot knife through butter" comes to mind.

We're giving them little plays
and we're playing like we're scared.

Let's challenge these cats, man.

[Mark]
From the 28.

Empty backfield.
Shedeur to throw.

Going for the home run
and passes out of bounds to the far side.

Another quick snap,
a little screen pass out.

And Shedeur put that one
down low on the carpet.

Drops, steps, throws, grab is made.

It'll be three and out for Colorado.

Give it to Bo Nix.

He shovel-passes that one
to the far side.

13-0.

[commentator]
Right now, we've gotta shore it up

or this is gonna get embarrassing.

[Mark]
They need something to happen on offense.

Shedeur down the right-hand side.

And it is nearly picked off.

Everybody calm down and do your job.

[Mark] Throw to the end zone.
Looking. Grab is made.

End zone. Touchdown.

Every single number right now
dominated by Oregon.

[Coach Prime]
Timeout! Trevor!

They're gonna take a shot.
They're gonna take a shot.

[Mark]
Drops, scans, looks to throw.

Running back downfield wide open.

Catch by end zone.

Touchdown.

I just told him
they're gonna take a shot.

Hey.

Pick your head up.
Don't sit down with your head down.

[Mark]
42-6 was the final in this one.

And Oregon dominated Colorado.

When you start pointing fingers here,

you point at virtually every area
of the football team.

Nah. Bro.

What the f*ck?

What example?

What is our example here?

What is our standard,
what is our example?

Set the f*cking standard,
that's our standard.

Set it.

Set the example.

We gotta work harder.

We gotta work harder.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coach Prime]
First and foremost,

I thank the Lord for the love
in all this that transpired.

It's a good old-fashioned butt-kicking.

There's no excuses, no nothing.

Um, their coaches did
a heck of a job preparing their team.

Obviously, we didn't.

We lost offensively, defensively,
as well as special teams.

Seemed like they had our number.

People around the country will say,

"This is what they needed
to humble themselves."

We wasn't arrogant or whatever.
We just...

We're confident people.

If our confidence offends your insecurity,
that's a problem with you. It's not us.

One thing that I can say
honestly and candidly,

this is the worst we're gonna be.

You better get me right now.

I think the Oregon game
was a bit of a reality check.

I think that people
were really riding high,

thinking that, "Oh, wow,
I think this could actually be

a national championship team,"
after only three games.

And then they faced Oregon,

that is actually
a national championship contender,

and they realized, "Okay,
let's bring these back down to earth."

[Sam] In this profession,
coach's profession,

there's constantly
being things thrown your way

that's gonna, you know, go off-plan,
things that you didn't think about.

In stressful situations,
I don't think I've ever seen him flinch.

If there was ever a moment
of any sort of doubt or anything,

it was like, "Okay,
let me process what's going on.

Let me process
what's getting thrown at us."

But then instantly within,
you know, seconds,

it's like, "Okay,
here's what we're gonna do.

Here's the game plan,"
and everyone jumps on board.

You know he's doing that for himself,

but he's also doing that
for everyone on the team.

[Jimmy]
If our head coach is confident,

we gotta be confident
right there with him.

You win some, you lose some,
you know you're gonna learn from it.

[Shane]
You know, I think maybe in simple terms

it's growing pains, but at the same time,

I think that's what you have to go through
to build a culture, to build a foundation,

to build something off of,
to make it to be great.

There's a lot of ball left,
and we just gotta stay consistent

and just do what we do
week after week, but be better.

[hip hop music playing]

[Xavier]
We're on to the next.

You know, you can't keep
dwelling on what we just did in the past.

Forget about it.
On to the next.

[Shedeur]
At this point, we're all grown men.

And we're all here for a purpose.

Each person has to make
a conscious decision

by their self for the team.

[man]
Come on, come on, come on.

[Coach Prime] I understand
there's different types of winning.

Winning is just not the summation
of what a scoreboard displays.

I don't mind being second-guessed.

I don't mind being booed or jeered
or having the disbelievers.

And I truly know that our team is getting
to the point where they don't either.

They don't flinch
in the face of adversity.

They're ready to walk into it.

[indistinct chatter]

[Gus] I think Deion Sanders,
more than anything, is a winner.

Not only is he a winner in sports,
but I think he's a winner in life.

He is a man of service,
especially to African American young men,

making the congregation feel good.

And I think that's what he's doing
with college football right now.

[indistinct chatter]

[Coach Prime]
Is that Curtis Franklin?

- Curtis. It's Curtis.
- [Coach Prime] Curtis.

That's your spiritual uncle
right there, Shedeur.

- What's going on, man?
- I'm sorry you gotta look down at me.

[indistinct chatter]

This is Isaac.
You know Isaac Carree that sings. Yeah.

How do you deal with this?

[Coach Prime]
Mm-hmm.

[Kirk] It can't be that simple
to deal with this foolishness.

He wants to call all the shots,
that's his problem.

He wants to call the shots now.

I can't believe that you gotta deal
with this foolishness.

No, I just gotta advise him
and direct him in the right way.

You know, when I first met Deion,
it was in 1997.

We just really connected quickly.
It was... It was... It was crazy.

[Coach Prime laughs]

[Kirk] He'd been listening to my music
and really growing in his faith,

that a lot of it was
streaming from the music.

That's been,
you know, 25 years now.

[Jake] Coach Prime, what he brought here
and what the culture he's bringing here,

he understands the message
that it's much bigger than football.

[Kirk]
God's creation.

[Coach Prime]
You think this is work?

It's crazy.
How can I get mad at this, man?

I'm talking about this is crazy,
and then I'm coaching my sons?

- Yeah. Yeah.
- My daughter plays basketball.

I would have never fathomed
that I would be a coach

in college football
because I just wanted to do my thing

and retire and raise my kids

and be the best father
I could possibly be.

So getting into coaching was not the plan.

But it's not about my plans.
It's about God's.

[Kirk]
So, you know, I gotta ask you, though.

[Coach Prime]
Mm-hmm.

Have you had
any challenges with race?

Only thing we've gotten here
from this ethnicity

has been on the spiritual side.

They don't wanna hear nothing
about no Jesus.

We, every day,
when I meet with the coaches, we pray.

When I meet with my team, we pray.

And sometimes Bucky
would show it in one of the videos,

and you talk about letters and hate.

Bucky and I
get death threats like crazy.

Durn near every day,
at least once a week.

Yeah, yeah.

Because you're
on this side of the country.

- Yeah, it's a real liberal space.
- You know, in the South, it was...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The South, it was totally different.

They understood.

Deion represented this long line

of the Black head coach preacher.

These guys were really special,
but you didn't really know about them.

This may have been what it looked like

if Eddie Robinson
would have got that kind of shot,

if Big John Merritt
at Tennessee State

would have got that kind of shot,
you know,

unless you were kind of in that milieu.

But Deion, he's shown a light

not only on HBCUs,
but the preacher tradition.

All this Black pride, Black culture,

you bring all that stuff here,
that's a hell of a thing.

And when one Black person
does well,

the entire population does well.

I pray you keep him taller than me.

[laughs]

And let him always be able to see
that his daddy

will always come in second place,
that he'll be better than his daddy.

Yes, Lord.

In Jesus' name.

Ooh, that didn't go
nowhere to heaven.

That didn't get near heaven right there.
That sure didn't get to heaven.

I can feel that.
I ain't even feel it in my spirit.

[Dr. Rabaka]
When I found out Coach Prime

was coming
to the University of Colorado Boulder,

it was like a prayer had been answered.

He reinvigorated me personally,

and I know a lot of other faculty
and not just Black faculty.

He gave us a sense of pride.

I have never seen him this excited,
to be perfectly honest with you.

For Black Buffs, this is next level.

This is our time to shine.

Deion carried that HBCU spirit with him
at a place like Colorado.

That's a victory for Black people.

[Dr. Rabaka]
I think a lot of us have done our best

to make sure that he gets a warm welcome,
knows that he's got extended family.

I'm gonna have some of my students
train with you.

And this is Isaiah James.

I've got some of my trainers that was
with me in Jackson that's enrolled here.

Two beautiful, young women,

and I've got them coming over right now
to meet y'all,

because they need to know y'all,
and that's a beautiful thing

and I appreciate you.

You're talking about
an African American coach

in a state that I believe
is 3% African Americans,

on a campus
which echoes the same.

And then you throw in a guy that you say,
"He's not experienced enough,

he's not qualified enough,
and there's no way that this experiment"...

that's what they call it, experiment...
"can work."

And I'll be durned.

They discounted God's grace
and his guidance and his wisdom.

They discounted that.

You know, just having the person there
in that forefront to say, like,

"Okay, we can do this,
like, we can be as big

as a Nick Saban
or a Bear Bryant of the past,"

I think, is just the biggest thing
for African Americans in general.

[Xavier]
A lot of people are looking at this team

like we should have came here
or we should have did this as well.

Like, they're paving the way
they're doing all this

for the Black community and stuff.

So I just feel like
we're the stepping stone,

so we just gotta lead
by example every day.

Fellas, there are multiple things
that we must do to win this game,

and we jotted some of them down.

First of all, study and prepare

to know and understand your opponents.

Now, some of you guys
haven't even watched a lick of film.

How is that possible?

But you say you wanna win.
You say you wanna be dominant.

You say you wanna go pro.

How is that possible?

I promise you, those guys
that haven't watched film

will not play a snap this week.

Take advantage of your opportunities,
tremendous opportunities.

You're playing in front of


Probably gonna play in front
of 15 million people this weekend.

You still ain't busted a grape.

But this is what you want.

You want exposure, you want all this,
we're giving it to you.

It's an opportunity,
tremendous opportunity.

Do you understand what happens
to your life when you go out there

and dominate and ball out
on this Saturday against USC?

Fellas, is there anybody in here
that don't believe?

Is there anything you've seen on film
that you're afraid of?

Is there any part of our opposition
that you don't feel like you can defeat?

Well, let's go do it.

You've got kids that wanna be
compensated as if they're in the NFL,

but they don't wanna be
treated like they're in the NFL.

You can't have one
without the other one.

Because in the real world
that you're about to be

introduced to real soon,
you gotta do your job.

If you don't do your job,
there's gonna be a problem.

Coach, Sean Keeler
at The Denver Post.

You mentioned last week that Cormani
seeing the field was up to Cormani.

I wonder if you could elaborate
on what you want to see him do, one,

and two, did he help his case...

[Coach Prime]
Study. Prepare.

- [Sean] ...late against...
- [Coach Prime] Study. Prepare.

Be on time for meetings.
Show up to the durn meetings.

Understand what we're doing as a scheme.

Want to play this game,
desire to play this game,

desire to be the best in this game.

At practice, in the film room,
and on your own free time.

So if I don't see that, that...

You would be a fool
to put somebody out there

and they're unprepared.

Can't do it.

Won't do it. Can't do it.

[Kevin]
Cormani is coming along.

You know, he's a freshman who has
tremendous weight on his shoulders

he has to come behind.

He's the highest-rated recruit
here at Colorado.

He has so much expectation
from everyone here

because we know how talented he is.

Me and Coach Prime are on his butt daily
about doing the little things.

[Coach Prime]
Cormani, drop the chin.

Cormani, drop the chin.

What I mean by drop the chin?

Drop the chin.

If you drop your chin,
your shoulders gotta go down.

- Yes, sir.
- On every break.

Just drop your chin. All right?

All right.

The little things
is what's gonna make him be special.

Talk to me
about this call right here, buddy.

Playing what over here, Cormani?

That's you.

What's it called?

I gotta prove myself.
I just gotta stay competitive.

Where they clouding to, Cormani?

Work on my craft,
do everything I do right.

[Kevin]
Colorado, help him out.

So why you like this?

[Cormani] I take it serious.
I wanna come in and be the best freshman.

[Kevin]
Quit doing your own thing.

[Coach Prime]
Cormani, he's gonna be that guy.

He has a tremendous
navigational system in Travis,

just watching
how he goes about everything.

But just got some growing to do.

I got you. I got Javon.

Oh, sh*t.

[grunts] Oh.

[grunting]

Oh, sh**t!

[Travis]
When I'm on the field talking the most,

I'm out there trying to help
the guys out as much as I can

because I studied the game a lot.

The doctors wasn't fittin'
to let me play,

so my role is to come out here
and help coach up the young guys

like Cormani go out there
and just stay focused.

[grunting]

[Travis] He's a freshman,
so you gotta stay on him.

Gotta let him know he's gotta
continue to grind, continue to work.

And you just gotta give him
that confidence.

Once he gets his confidence,
it's over with.

[man] Everybody wanna be
on the Wheaties box, right?

Get your a*s up and make a poster.

Cormani loves to hear
what Travis has to say

about things he's doing right
and the things he's doing wrong.

[Cormani] I look up to him, so I'm trying
to do, like, certain things he do,

on and off the field.

You gotta learn from the best.

[Kevin] A lot of those guys
don't wanna let him down.

And they feel like
in that defensive back room,

we wasn't holding up
our end of the bargain.

And that's what we need.
That's what leaders are.

They don't just lead on the field,
they lead off the field.

And that's why guys respond to him
the way they do,

because they respect
what he brings to the game.

They respect how he approaches the game.

And it makes it important to those guys
who don't wanna fail him.

[whistle blows]

[indistinct chatter]

[Romi] Colorado, they're 0-16
against the Trojans,

so this is a team that Colorado
has been trying and failing to beat

for so many years,
and I think for a lot of Buffs fans,

this is the first time they felt
like maybe it can happen.

Coach Prime with Shedeur Sanders
finally can end that horrible record

before they leave the Pac-12.

[Shedeur] We're feeling like it's still
a lot to achieve and a lot we gotta do.

We know we just gotta do better
all the way around

and just be...
almost have a perfect game.

[Coach Prime]
A great challenge ahead of us.

Just watching some films,

clean it up and ready to go
into this week for USC.

You gotta understand now,
David's gotta have a Goliath.

Yeah, if David don't have a Goliath,
he don't get to use his stones.

The team just has to be consistent.

That's it.

Just be consistent and we're straight.

[Shedeur]
We're close to having success.

We just ain't found a way to do it
each and every time.

So we're almost there, though.

We just gotta stay focused,
stay patient.

[Coach Prime]
The goal is to win.

Not once have we gone out there
when the offense, defense,

as well as special teams,

have been dominant from the kickoff
or the kickoff return

to the conclusion of the game.

When are you gonna make up your mind

and understand that you have in this room
what it takes to win?

We have a lack of commitment,
a lack of effort,

and a lack of discipline.

Discipline is the key to much success.

We gotta be totally disciplined
in all phases tomorrow.

We got everything we need in this room
to win this game and to be dominant.

We're gonna do that.

We're gonna go out there as one
and we're gonna be unified,

and we're gonna dominate tomorrow.

[applause]

[hip hop music playing]

[Mark] Well, so much for the idea
that the luster was off the Buffaloes

after that sudden loss
in Oregon last week.

A star-studded, sold-out crowd
today at Folsom Field,

as the Buffaloes entertain
number eight USC here in Boulder.

Let's go!

[Kevin Garnett] It's dope to see
the beginnings of this lovely comeback

here in three, four years
and see how that effect

has translated into development.

Coach Prime is like Jordan,
Allen Iverson, LeBron James.

It's like, culturally,
guys that we stick to.

[DeSean] When he said, the coach,
"We're watching greatness,"

I mean, it's bigger than life.

This is just a whole 'nother level.

Man, it's just a beautiful thing to see,
a beautiful thing to be a part of.

- [hip hop music playing]
- [crowd cheering]

[Coach Prime] Let's go do it.
Let's be sure of ourselves.

[Mark] Hurry up offense.
First down and ten at the 27.

Williams snap, turns, hands off,
bounces off the near side.

Now reverses polarity.

Has the edge,
and he's going to the end zone.

Touchdown.

Nobody had containment on the weak side
and a 27-yard run for a score.

[Coach Prime]
Y'all ain't talking.

Let's call stuff out.

Call stuff out, out there.

Y'all ain't talking.
Y'all just lining up, playing.

Y'all talk, man.
Y'all know this stuff.

[Mark]
A high snap yanked out.

Sets to throw.

Now he fakes, running near sides.

Gonna whip it downfield
and it is caught at the 35-yard line.

He's being chased by Woods.

Can't get him.
Ten, five, end zone. Touchdown.

What'd you do?
You come down when the ball is thrown.

[Mark] Buffaloes are two of five
on third down.

A big one right here.

Snap to Shedeur, drops, pressure
in his face, flushed out to his right.

Whips this one downfield
and it is picked off at the 45-yard line.

Down the sideline to the 30,
to the 25, and out of bounds

goes Christian Roland-Wallace.

And that time, Shedeur Sanders intercepted
for only the second time this season.

[Coach Prime]
Protect the ball at all costs, man.

- Right.
- I know.

When the play is that late, okay,

there ain't a lot
of good things happening.

[Mark]
Side right, Lloyd off his left hip.

A little play action, swinging out.

Rice, the grab, and he steps out
of the tackle of Wood's.

End zone. Touchdown.

These kids are not that good, man.
They're beating us. They're not that good.

We gotta score, though.

[Mark]
Buffaloes down 34-7

inside two minutes
to play in the first half.

Shedeur's out of the shotgun.

Takes the snap, drops,
he's got time.

Flash forward. He's got a mile to run!

Fifteen, ten, end zone!
Touchdown, Colorado!

[crowd cheering]

[Mark] Well, if nothing else,
the quarterback battle in this ballgame

has lived up to the hype.

You've got the Heisman Trophy winner
in Caleb Williams

and a guy that's looking
to take that trophy away,

and both have been
outstanding this afternoon.

Third quarter, Buffs down 34-14.

Don't leave nothing.
This first series is everything.

Let's end it.

[Mark]
Williams takes the snap.

Now he's gonna throw this time.
Sets to throw.

Dumping over a checkdown
to Michael Jackson again.

Come on, man.

[commentator] That's 16
straight completions by Caleb Williams.

Hey, hey, give me one.
Get Cormani.

[Mark]
Shotgun snap taken by Caleb Williams.

Lobs it downfield
and an amazing grab in traffic.

- You gotta stay focused.
- Yes, sir.

Don't get in the talk with all that mess.
You gotta stay mentally in this.

All right.

Come on, D!

[Mark] Well, this wasn't expected.
Look who's coming into the game right now.

The number one cornerback recruit
in America, Cormani McClain.

Less-than-flattering comments
earlier this week from Coach Prime

about why he wasn't playing:

not being ready,
not taking care of responsibilities.

But yet he comes in this ballgame,

and he's gonna be defending
one of the top offenses in the country.

Money, money, money, money.

[Mark]
But look at this right here.

Travis Hunter,
who's been out with the injury,

the previous year's
number one recruit in America,

coaching his young protege
on the sidelines.

Second down and four from the six.

Snap, turns.

He keeps his time.
Sidearm throw.

End zone. And right there in his face
was Cormani McClain.

[all cheering]

[Coach Prime]
Hey, hey, Cormani.

Cormani! Keep going inside.

[Mark]
Out of the shotgun is Williams.

The snap, drops, throws,
right-side slant.

Rice, catch. Touchdown.

[commentator]
Can't get any easier than that.

[Mark] No, that was like playing catch
in the backyard.

The hardest throw to make is a fake.
So take that. You gotta take something.

Good job. All right.

[Mark]
So here comes Shedeur Sanders.

Let's see if we can give this
capacity crowd something to cheer about.

Fakes the handoff,
brings it on the near side.

Caught on the numbers.

Turns up to the 35, 40, 45, 50-yard line.

Foot race down the near sideline.

Being chased, 25, 20, 15,
and driven out of bounds on the near side!

- [hip hop music playing]
- [crowd cheering]

[Mark]
Been given to Hankerson.

Turns upfield, dives in the end zone!

Touchdown! Touchdown, Colorado!

Shedeur sets.

Gonna r*fle this one down the side.
Cooper's out there.

And he makes the grab!

He's got a blocker.

Running at the ten,
the five, end zone! Touchdown!

And Colorado's pulled within 48-27.

And it is picked off!

Picked off by Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig!

- [hip hop music playing]
- [crowd cheering]

[Mark]
Moves to his right.

Looking in the end zone.

Fires to the end zone!

Diving down!
Did he hold on?

He did!

A star has been born
on a Saturday in Boulder!

[all cheering]

[Mark]
To make it 48-33!

Shedeur with an empty backfield.

Takes the snap, drops, throws,
end zone, caught.

Touchdown! Honk the horn!
Jimmy found the end zone again!

48-41.

Colorado trails by one touchdown
here in Boulder.

[Coach Prime] We can do this, y'all.
Y'all gotta believe in yourselves.

We can do this.

[commentator]
So you're gonna get an onside kick.

This is their best shot. They gotta do it.
They're out of timeouts.

[Mark] Yep.

[commentator] If they give SC the ball,
they're gonna take a knee three times,

and that'll be the game.

[Mark]
He kicks it. It's gonna get a bounce.

And it bounces right into the hands
of one of the Trojans.

We came a long way today, Coach.
Don't hang your head on this.

[Mark]
And there's the final kneel-down.

And so Colorado went down swinging
with one of the best teams in America.

So the Buffaloes lose to their second
ranked opponent in a row,

and after starting the season 3-0,
beating a top-25 team and two rivals,

everyone's wondering,
can they refind the magic

and get back in the win column
next week?

[Arielle] Is this,
at least the second half team,

is that the team
that you imagined you would have

when you stepped foot on this field?

No. No. The team I imagined I would have
would play four solid quarters.

And that's what we wanna do.
We are yet to have an identity.

I challenged them all week on,
what's our identity?

I don't know who we are.

From week to week,
I don't know what we're gonna do.

You know, from practice to practice, I do.

But we gotta
translate that into the games.

So we're still searching
for our true identity.

If you can't see what's coming
with CU football, you've lost your mind.

You're just a flat-out hater.

If you can't see what's going on

and what's gonna transpire
over the next several months,

something's wrong with you.

[man] Colorado gotta put all the flash,
all the glitter, all the glamour away.

Get back to the grind.

[woman]
This game is a must win

in order to have a potential future
in getting a bowl game.

[Mark]
Here's the good news for Colorado:

Travis Hunter back in the lineup.

[Arielle] They're gonna need him
because the road ahead is tough.

But when you gonna see that?

- I figured it out.
- No, you ain't.

[man] We have something
that you need to do

and everybody else is there
and you're not there,

there's a problem.

[Bishop] Hopefully,
I actually put my pads on this week.

[Coach Prime]
I k*ll a gnat with a sledgehammer.

I go ahead and get it over with.

And let's move on.

Cut that camera.

[hip hop music playing]