Shortly after Coach Jay Norvell of the Colorado State Rams dropped a hot take about Coach Prime's hat and sunglasses on his weekly radio show, it sparked a media frenzy that temporarily thrust his team into the mainstream while also providing the Colorado Buffaloes (#19) with bulletin board material. Conversely, Coach Prime cleverly capitalized on the viral commentary, earning $1.2 million in sunglasses sales from a partnership with Blenders Eyewear. In an act of one-upmanship, Coach Prime handed out a pair of sunglasses to several Colorado Buffaloes celebrity supporters such as The Rock, Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith, and Shannon Sharpe.
On Saturday night, the rivalry game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Colorado State Rams lived up to the hype and more. The underdogs outperformed the undefeated home team in the first half behind the spirited play of their freshman quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and Mohamad Kamara, the team's star defensive lineman who finished with five tackles and two sacks. Ultimately, standout play from Coach Prime's sons, Shedeur and Shiloh Sanders, helped the Colorado Buffaloes mount a comeback before winning the game in overtime by a score of 43-35.
Colorado vs. Colorado State was one of the best college football games of the early season, but it was overshadowed by a hit from Rams' safety Henry Blackburn. The impact of the collision with Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter will sideline two-way player for the next 2-3 weeks. Since then, Blackburn and his family have received death threats. On Tuesday, Coach Prime took the podium during a press conference to address Blackburn's hit. Coach Prime, who played defensive back like Blackburn, sympathized with the Rams' player, stating that he also receives death threats. Additionally, he condemned the people responsible for making the death threats at Blackburn while providing context for the controversial play.
"Henry Blackburn is a good player who played a phenomenal game," Coach Prime said. "He made a tremendous hit on Travis on the sideline. You can call it dirty; you can call it he was just playing the game of football. But whatever it was, it does not constitute that he should be receiving death threats. This is still a young man that's trying to make it in life, a guy that's trying to live his dream and hopefully graduate with honors or a degree, committed to excellence, and go to the NFL. He does not deserve a death threat over a game. At the end of the day, this is a game. Someone must win, someone must lose. Everyone continues their life the next day. Very unfortunate. I'm saddened if any of our fans are on the other side of those threats...That kid was just playing the best of his ability, and he made a mistake. I forgive him, our team forgives him, Travis has forgiven him, let's move on. But that kid does not deserve that. Let's pray for that kid. That's absurd for people to be threatening him. I don't mind getting death threats; I get them every week, but a kid, that's not good."
Travis Hunter, who sustained a lacerated liver from Blackburn's hit, echoed Coach Prime's sentiment, indicating that Blackburn did not act in a malicious manner during their highly competitive game on Saturday night.
"It’s football at the end of the day," Travis Hunter said. "Stuff like that gonna happen. He did what he was supposed to do. It's football."
Henry Blackburn, the Colorado State Rams defensive caption, finished the rivalry game against the Colorado State Buffaloes with five tackles. The senior has yet to respond publicly about the hit that sidelined Travis Hunter.
Source: YouTube
