Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes captured the attention of the college football world after some impressive wins to start the season, but the team has been humbled in recent weeks — including a brutal loss to Stanford in Week 7 after leading 29-0 at halftime.
So, naturally, Coach Prime and the Buffs were the butt of some jokes when Saturday Night Live returned this weekend.
During a segment on Weekend Update, Kenan Thompson portrayed Coach Prime while speaking to host Colin Jost, who poked fun at Colorado’s 4-3 record while Thompson exuded Deion’s signature confidence.
“We just keep winning, man,” Thompson said. “Every game, every minute. We winning at life.”
Jost then chimed in, “Yeah, you’re also 4-3, so you have lost a few.”
Thompson retorted with, “Colin, look at me, man. What about me makes you think that I care about what you think about me? You don’t understand that my team has it all, man. Coaching? Genius. Offense? Explosive. Defense? Trying. It’s a complete package, man.”
That’s when the narrative switched to Colorado’s loss to Stanford the night prior.
“Millions of people are watching your games,” Jost said. “You’ve obviously turned the program around. But it’s not perfect. I mean, just last night you lost to Stanford in double overtime.”
That’s when the fictional Coach Prime related to the rest of us.
“Wasn’t that crazy?” Thompson said. “Man, we went up 29 to nothing at the half, so I went home and fell asleep. I woke up this morning as shocked as anyone … Nobody’s perfect.”
Just brilliant.
With the attention Coach Prime has brought to Colorado, they are always going to be a lightning rod for controversy and criticism when they blow games like they did this past week. But at this point in the season, they have already quadrupled their win total from a season ago.
Rebuilding takes time, so the Buffs are a work in progress. But we’re still going to have to laugh when the fictional Coach Prime is on our TVs.
