CU Buffs, TCU both trying to prove doubters wrong – BuffZone

Look at the win-loss records of each team in 2022, and there would appear to be a massive difference between Colorado and TCU.
Colorado went 1-11 – barely getting that one win in overtime – while TCU went 13-2 and played in the national title game.
As the Buffaloes and Horned Frogs prepare to face each other in the season opener on Saturday (10 a.m. MT, Fox), TCU is a 20.5-point favorite. However, both teams come into the year with the common goal of trying to prove everyone wrong.
After hiring head coach Deion Sanders in December, the Buffaloes have overhauled their roster and they lead the country in preseason hype. But, they’re still projected to be a bottom of the barrel team. Odds makers have CU’s over/under win total at 3.5. Pac-12 media picked them to finish 11th. And one national pundit this week claimed CU might have the worst roster in all of major college football.
“They haven’t seen us play,” center Van Wells said. “They’re just predicting off last year. This is a whole different team, whole different coaching staff, just a whole different mindset. Everything is different. We block out the outside noise. We don’t really care what they said. We know what we’re gonna do when the time comes.”
The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, have higher expectations, given last year’s success, but few expect them to be in title contention again. Their over/under is only 7.5 and they were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12.
“That does seem like it’s something that I think our players have noticed a little bit and it seems to be something that I think probably provides a little bit of extra motivation,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes told BuffZone this week.
Dykes added, however, that he doesn’t believe it’s the driving force behind TCU’s motivation going into the season.
“We haven’t really talked about (the outside expectations) honestly that much,” he said. “I mean, our guys are motivated intrinsically and they’re motivated just by the amount of work that they do on a daily basis and how much they pour into the program. It takes a lot of work to be a big-time college football player and so I think that those guys are motivated by that first and foremost.
“But I do think that this team probably feels a little bit disrespected. I think the success we had last year doesn’t really have anything to do with this team at all and it’s a different team and different players, and we’re going to have to have different guys to step up.”
CU and TCU might be two of the most difficult teams to project because of the amount of changes they’ve had since last year.
Wells is a returning starter for CU, but one of only three. Only nine scholarship players are back for CU, which has 87 new players out of the 113 on the roster. This certainly isn’t the same team that went 1-11 a year ago, which is a good thing.
Despite bringing players in from numerous schools around the country, the Buffs, by all accounts, have meshed well this offseason.
“These kids are very fond of one another,” Coach Prime sad. “All these kids are eating together and they’re having a good time. … They are fond of one another and they’re working together handsomely.”
Coach Prime has said he doesn’t believe youth have a problem making friends quickly, and Dykes agreed. The Horned Frogs don’t have nearly as many newcomers as CU, but they are replacing most of their offense from last year, as well four starters on defense. They utilized the transfer portal to replenish those spots.
“That’s just one thing that young people have an ability to do is adapt and change and be able to do it quickly,” Dykes said. “I think everybody’s always worried when you take transfers, how are the guys going to adapt and how they are going to be welcomed and all that. That hasn’t been a problem.”
With re-tooled rosters, but CU and TCU come into the season eager to prove they are better than expected.
Coach Prime, who has known Dykes since Dykes’ days at SMU, has no doubt TCU will be ready to roll Saturday.
“First of all, they’ve got great coaching,” said Sanders, who has a home in Texas. “They did the unthinkable last year and I’m proud of them, residing there in Texas for quite some time. They lost a lot of men that were really good football players and they replaced them with pretty good football players. One thing about that team and their head coach, they will be prepared. They will be fundamentally sound.
“It’s a good football team. I’m happy with our opponent. I can’t wait to get up there and see how we stand up to the challenge.”
Although the odds makers don’t expect CU to present a challenge, Coach Prime and the Buffs certainly do.
“These kids can play. The roster is really talented,” he said.
“I want them to go out there and maximize the moment and take advantage of the exposure and the light that they have and I feel like they will 100%.”