Patrick Kinahan: 'Prime' observations after first week of college football

SALT LAKE CITY — Ridiculous as it is, one week into a season replete with the possibility of several twists and turns, let's make assumptions based on the first college football games.

More than ever, broadcasters are forced to tap into the history of all the well-traveled players. On seemingly every play, the ball carrier or tackler has come through the transfer portal, and in some cases it's multiple programs.

Be true to your school, talk about an outdated philosophy. But the good thing is, through all the constant roster shuffling, the virtual pay-for-play (otherwise known as NIL) and the decimation of geography through realignment, the actual games themselves deserve and command attention.

The Pac-12, sadly in a real sense, was the story of the first week as every team won to run the conference's overall record this season to 13-0 (USC already has played two games). Enjoy the good times, Pac-12 lovers, until the multiple cash-grabs in the best interests of the student-athletes kill the conference.

For one week, and probably many to come, Deion Sanders has created the biggest buzz in college football — if not in all of U.S. sports. Coach Prime, as the country is required to call him, already has shocked everybody but himself.

His Colorado Buffaloes outscored last season's national runner-up TCU in a slugfest that saw his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, shatter school records in passing for 510 yards and four touchdowns. As he's done publicly for decades, Prime had plenty to say about it all.

According to Prime, no one in the entire world believed the former laughingstock program could beat the Horned Frogs. To all the faithless, beware, he "keeps receipts."

After the game, in which Colorado was a 21-point underdog, he said his program is doing "things that have never been done, and that makes people uncomfortable. When you see a confident Black man sitting up here talking his talk and walking his walk, coaching 75% (of the roster that's) African Americans in the locker room, that's kind of threatening. Oh, they don't like that. But guess what, we gonna do consistently what we do, because I'm here and ain't going nowhere. And I'm about to get comfortable in a minute."

Dunno exactly who "they" are in the larger context, but Pac-12 coaches might not be as comfortable in playing Colorado as in years past. As Prime says: "We comin'."

Mark it down, coach Prime is coming to Salt Lake City to closeout the regular season against Utah on Nov. 25. But don't expect Kyle Whittingham to refer to Sanders as Prime any time.

The younger Sanders is among several Pac-12 quarterbacks turning in outstanding performances in the first full week. USC's Caleb Williams is the class of the QB's, holding on to the rank of most exciting player in the game, but Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Bo Nix (Oregon) and Cam Ward (Washington State) are not too far behind.

In time, hopefully, Utah's Cam Rising will return to full heath and display his considerable skills. For now, though, the combination of Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson, along with a stout defense, is plenty good enough to breeze through the two games remaining on the nonconference schedule.

Next up for the Utes is future Big 12 opponent Baylor, which suffered a horrendous loss to a Texas State team that got its first win over a Power Five team. Quarterback TJ Finley, of course, is on his third team after playing one season at LSU and two at Auburn was named the starter after beating out Arkansas transfer Malik Hornsby.

Another transfer on his third school, Kedon Slovis didn't play as well as anticipated in BYU's lackluster 14-0 over Sam Houston State. True to a shutout, the defense dominated in new coordinator Jay Hill's first game.

Not that all the blame rests on the quarterback, but the struggles on offense suggest the Cougars could face trouble once Big 12 play begins. But then again, it's only one game.

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