Deion Sanders makes most of rival coach's comments about him always wearing sunglasses and a hat

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — When Jay Norvell threw shade at Deion Sanders for wearing sunglasses during interviews, Coach Prime responded by handing out some of his signature shades.

Sanders passed out pairs of Prime 21 sunglasses to his players during a team meeting — “I just want to see how y'all look in 'em. You look good!” — and then gave some to the hosts of ESPN's “First Take” and “The Pat McAfee Show” to wear on set Friday.

“College GameDay” is broadcasting this weekend from Boulder, where Sanders has led the Buffaloes to a No. 18 ranking and a 2-0 start after taking a 1-11 team and bringing in more than 80 new players. They kicked off the season with an upset at TCU over the national runners-up and then walloped Nebraska last weekend.

Before big games at Oregon and against USC, Colorado hosts Colorado State (0-1) on Saturday night, and during his weekly radio show, Norvell took a swipe at Sanders' habit of wearing his cap and sunglasses during media interviews.

“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 grown-ups, I take my hat and my glasses off.’ That’s what my mother taught me,” Norvell said. “They’re not going to like us, no matter what we say or do. It doesn’t matter. So, let’s go up there and play.”

Although that provided motivation for Colorado, which is a three-touchdown favorite over the Rams, Sanders told McAfee he didn't appreciate Norvell's comments following a week of respectful banter.

“I didn’t like that it happened because it’s another (Black coach),” Sanders said. “We started out right. He was complimenting me, I was complimenting him, but it just took a quick left. What happened?"

When Sanders handed out the stylish sunglasses to his players Thursday, he said Norvell's dig at him was going to backfire not only with a fired-up Buffaloes team on Saturday but by helping sales of the sunglasses.

“They didn't realize they just helped me with business," he told his team.

“GameDay” host Rece Davis and his colleague, analyst Desmond Howard, had very different takes when asked Friday about Norvell's dig at Sanders.

Davis said he didn't think Norvell's comments were meant as anything more than a message to his own players that they weren't going to back down against a team and its charismatic coach that's getting so much national attention.

“Who do you think he's talking to?" Davis said. "He's talking to his players: 'We’re not afraid. We’re going in there, we’re not intimidated by all the attention they get, or by the force of his personality or by the talent of Travis Hunter or Shedeur Sanders. We’re not intimidated by any of that. We’re going to play and we’re going to do our thing.'”

Davis said Colorado rightfully used Norvell's words as bulletin board fodder, “but I didn't think for a second” Norvell meant to insult Sanders.

Howard called it petty for Norvell to complain about Sanders wearing sunglasses or a hat and never should have brought anyone's mother into the discussion.

“If you know Deion Sanders, not even Coach Prime, but if you just know Deion Sanders, he's really, really close to his mom. Like extremely close to his mother,” Howard said. “So ... when you bring it to the way you were raised, then that’s like damn near beyond personal. I’m assuming at this point, he wants to apologize for that because it wasn’t necessary.”

Howard said taking a shot at Sanders "over his fashion seems silly because you're talking about a guy who doesn’t swear, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke doesn’t use drugs. He’s a great example for young men and women. And you want to sit there and talk about if he had on shades and a hat? Like how petty and ridiculous are you to go there? Why does that even bother you?

"Shouldn’t your attention be on something else? How’s your team doing? How are your players doing? How are his players doing? How’s his team doing?”

Colorado State (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) at No. 18 Colorado, Saturday, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Line: Colorado by 22 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Series record: Colorado leads 67-22-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

For the second straight week, Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes will host a longtime rival. After dispatching Nebraska 36-14 last weekend at sold out Folsom Field, the Buffaloes host the Rams in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. It's another sellout, too. Boulder is the place to be in college football, with both ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” showing up on campus for the contest. This particular stat bodes well for Colorado State: The last six times where either the Buffaloes or Rams were ranked, the team in the polls has lost each game. Shedeur Sanders has worked his way to the top of the Heisman list with back-to-back big games. He’s completed 69 of 89 passes for 903 yards and six touchdowns in wins over TCU and the Cornhuskers. The Rams were off last weekend after opening the season at home with a 50-24 loss to Washington State. Rams coach Jay Norvell is making a change at quarterback, going with Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi over Clay Millen.

KEY MATCHUP

Finding a way to contain Shedeur Sanders and the high-flying Colorado offense. He has four wideouts with more than 100 yards receiving this season. Jimmy Horn Jr. leads the way in catches (19) and Xavier Weaver in yards (288). Rams cornerbacks Chigozie Anusiem, Dom Jones, Ron Hardge III and TJ Crandall will try to contain Colorado's speed.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Colorado State: Receiver Justus Ross-Simmons, who had five catches for 123 yards against Washington State. That included a 75-yard TD reception. He started the last 10 games in 2022 as a true freshman.

Colorado: Left tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, the offensive lineman of the week for the Pac-12. Christian-Lichtenhan was credited for allowing only one pressure on Sanders.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Buffaloes and Rams last played on Aug. 30, 2019, at Empower Field, which is the home of the Denver Broncos. Colorado won 52-31 behind a two-touchdown game from Steven Montez. ... The Buffaloes have won five straight in the series. The last Rams win was 31-17 on Aug. 29, 2014. ... The Rams will make their first trip to Folsom Field since 2009, where they won 23-17. ... The Rams have lost 23 straight games against AP Top 25 teams. Their last road win over a ranked team was in 1998 when they beat No. 23 Michigan State 23-16 in East Lansing. ... Colorado is 18-10 against Mountain West teams since 2000.

Back in the AP Top 25 rankings, No. 23 Washington State hosts Northern Colorado

Jake Dickert would still like to wait until six weeks into the season before there are any rankings of college football teams.

That being said, the Washington State coach acknowledges the validation that came with the Cougars cracking the AP Top 25 at No. 23 following last week’s upset victory over Wisconsin.

“It is cool. It means a lot in recruiting. It shows the hard work that our guys have put in in the dark and to get recognized for that I do think is important. But (it) doesn’t mean anything. I want to be ranked at the end,” Dickert said.

The Cougars (2-0) will likely be ranked for a second straight week barring some type of unexpected outcome on Saturday when they face FCS program Northern Colorado.

For Washington State, taking on the Big Sky school is almost a perfect bridge between the high of last week’s victory over Wisconsin and next week’s Pac-12 Conference opener against No. 16 Oregon State.

That is as long as the Cougars don’t get caught looking ahead to the Beavers.

“I think we do have a mature team. I think after a big win, are you still hungry? Are you full? I know I digested that win and I’m starving again," Dickert said. “So they need to be the same way and that’s what good teams do. Like I said, this is another step in our journey and we need to take it that way.”

Northern Colorado (0-2) has struggled out of the gates in its first season under new coach Ed Lamb. The Bears haven’t had an easy start opening on the road at Abilene Christian before getting routed at home by Incarnate Word, ranked in the top 10 in the FCS polls.

“We have a team that hasn’t had enough success yet to really believe when the game is close and competitive,” Lamb said after the loss to UIW.

WATCH THE EDGE

Washington State edge rusher Ron Stone Jr. was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week after his performance against Wisconsin that included five tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. One of those fumbles was recovered by teammate Brennan Jackson for a touchdown.

“We’re trying to make a lot of those (plays) and not let one of them be the only one we have,” Stone said. “I think he and I have the ability to make some more plays like that.”

In a perfect scenario, Stone and Jackson won’t be on the field for very long Saturday, but when they are they’ll be a problem for the Bears.

GROUND GAME

While Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward has done it with both his arm and feet through the first two games, the Cougars would like to get more production from their running backs.

Starting running back Nakia Watson has managed just 41 yards rushing on 18 carries through the first two games, although he had a key fourth-quarter touchdown run against Wisconsin. But the Cougars know they need more from Watson and the rest of the running game moving forward.

BACK HOME

Northern Colorado QB Jacob Sirmon will have a bit of a homecoming this week. Sirmon was once a top recruit on the other side of the state at Washington but never got much of a chance to see the field for the Huskies. Sirmon threw four passes in his career at Washington before transferring to Central Michigan for one season and eventually ending up at Northern Colorado. Sirmon has thrown for just 220 yards in his two starts this season and the Bears have scored just 18 offensive points in eight quarters.

BACK IN THE POLL

Washington State’s return to the AP Top 25 was its first appearance in the poll since Week 4 of the 2019 season. The Cougars were ranked 19th after starting 3-0 but lost 67-63 at home to UCLA and have not returned to the poll again until this week.