Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell fires shots at Deion Sanders

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell fired shots at Colorado’s Deion Sanders ahead of their week 3 matchup

On Saturday afternoon, the Colorado State Rams and Colorado Buffaloes will faceoff in their rivalry matchup, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, at Folsom Stadium in Boulder.

The Saturday night showdown will be the first matchup in the rivalry since 2019. Since that last meeting, both schools have seen new head coaches take over their respective programs. With that, Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell has decided to ensure the fire in the rivalry hasn’t smoldered despite the recent struggles and coaching changes for both programs.

On Wednesday night, Norvell fired shots at Colorado head coach Deion Sanders during his weekly coaches show.

“I sat down with ESPN today, and I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder, I told them, I took my hat off, and I took my glasses off, and I said, ‘When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off. That’s what my mother taught me,” Norvell said in reference to Sanders’ frequent attire of wearing a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses during his interviews and press conferences.

 

Sanders would appear to respond to Norvell’s comments on Thursday morning via X. 

“Forget what they think or say about u because the only that matters is what you think & say about yourself,” he posted. “I need u to stay Positive & persistent. Today will be better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow. Believe that!”

Considering the circumstances, Norvell’s willingness to stoke the fire is bold.

The Rams are in their second season under Norvell after going 3-9 in 2022, thanks mainly to having the country’s 129-ranked offense that averaged just 13.2 points per game last season. The Rams fell to Washington State 50-24 in week one before having off week two.

On the other hand, despite going 1-11 in 2022, Colorado has been very impressive in Deion Sanders’ first season with the program. In week one, the Buffaloes upset last year’s national championship runner-ups, the TCU Horned Frogs, 45-42 before thrashing Nebraska in week two, 36-14. With the back-to-back victories, the Buffaloes find themselves within both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll’s top 25.

The Buffaloes’ offense has posted over 450 total yards of offense in each of their first two games, including 906 passing yards as quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion, has been spectacular, completing 69-of-89 passing attempts for 903 yards and six touchdowns.

Entering the matchup on Saturday, the Buffaloes are considered more than a three-touchdown favorite over the Rams. In a game that was already anticipated to be a blowout, could Norvell’s comments backfire for Colorado State?

If Saturday’s game does end up being a blowout, don’t be surprised if Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes’ keep their foot on the pedal. This past weekend, Shedeur Sanders called Colorado’s win over Nebraska “extremely personal” after he believed the Cornhuskers disrespected Colorado by meeting on the Colorado logo at midfield before the game. The younger Sanders also referred to comments made by Rhule in the offseason about how Deion Sanders was rebuilding the Colorado program.

It’s already clear that Sheduer doesn’t take disrespect to his team or his father lightly, which will surely make his performance on Saturday all the more intriguing to watch.

With Colorado being the media darling of the college football season thus far, Norvell’s comments will surely become another layer of storylines discussed ahead of Saturday night’s kickoff in Boulder.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. MT in Boulder and will be televised nationally on ESPN, while Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff show will be live from Boulder on Saturday morning for the second straight week.