Colorado Buffaloes Must Win Or Deion Sanders' Message Will Ring Hollow, Ex-LB Chad Brown Tells Dan Dakich

The glitz and glam of Deion Sanders' Buffaloes has lost a great deal of shine since the team started last college football season 3-0. 

Now, approaching a new season after a disastrous 4-8 record to finish, Prime's team must now prove whether it can win under the new regime.

With CU football firmly in the hands of Coach Prime and his two sons, Shedeur and Shilo, questions loom around the program, one of which is whether the team is a glorified collection of NIL stars or a true contender next season, which marks the program's first year in the Big 12 since 2010.

BOULDER - Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates with quarterback Shedeur Sanders after a fourth quarter touchdown against the Colorado State Rams at Folsom Field on September 16, 2023. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Former Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Chad Brown joined OutKick's Dan Dakich on "Don't @ Me" Wednesday morning to discuss the expectations around CU football next season.

According to Brown, all the talk Deion built up from last season to the offseason will need to be proven with wins in the new year. 

Anything short of a bowl game appearance for Coach Prime and the Buffs should be considered a failure.

"Coach Prime and a couple of Buffalo players, particularly, Shedeur Sanders, his kid, and Shiloh, the safety have talked about … they were at the Big 12 media days saying every team that plays us, it's like a Super Bowl for them," Brown told Dakich.

SEATTLE - Outside linebacker Chad Brown of the Seattle Seahawks runs against the Denver Broncos during the NFL preseason game at Qwest Field on August 21, 2004. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

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"It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, you were 4-8 last year. You guys have made this aura around the program as if you have accomplished something. You've accomplished something from the eyeballs' perspective. You certainly grabbed the country's attention early last season when you guys had that 3-0 start, but then you finished 1-8 after that. 

BOULDER - Oklahoma's Kenyon Rasheed in action, being tackled by Colorado's Chad Brown (34), Greg Biekert (19), and Ted Johnson (46) at Folsom (Photo by John Biever /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) 

Brown added, "So I think the expectation is at least here in Colorado. He's going to have to at least get to a bowl game. If he does not get to a bowl game. All this talk, all this conversation, all this hype, all this building, it's going to feel really, really hollow. Because ultimately, yeah, you've done everything except win football games …

"In some ways, if you're a Coach Prime, can you turn this roster into a team? Can you turn this talent into winning? The best teams that I was ever on weren't necessarily the most talented teams, but they were the teams that played together the best."

Catch Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich every Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET on OutKick.

Former NFL player and Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders. (Photo by Sam Hodde/UFL/Getty Images)

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