Deion Sanders and Colorado can't sleep with their Big 12 title dreams at Texas Tech

For Coach Prime's second Buffaloes band, it's easy. Keep winning and pray that one of Iowa State's four opponents can defeat the 17th-seeded Cyclones. A road game at Utah and a home game in the season finale with No. 22 Kansas State remain on ISU's schedule. The Buffs need the Cats or someone else to demote the Cyclones.

Two surprises opened the door of hope. Now the question is: Can the Buffs make a breakthrough? Four games remain, three against the conference's bottom teams, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. Is the future in Lubbock coming? The Texas Tech Red Raiders pulled off a shocking upset on the road against previously undefeated Iowa State. Tech is now bowl eligible and hungry for more.

The Big 12 was touted in the preseason as one of the most unpredictable of the Power Four conferences. It wasn't disappointing. BYU is undefeated but still has games to play against Arizona State (currently 6-2) and Utah. The Utes are down this year after losing talented quarterback Cam Rising, but would like to play the spoilsport role against Colorado and BYU.

The Cougars were ranked 13th among the conference's 16 teams in preseason polls, two spots behind the Buffs. Preseason forecasters raved about the Big 12 Conference and expected the bottom seed to play Dec. 7 at Jerry's World in Dallas in good position for the championship.

All of this madness takes the old guy back to the wild and crazy 1990 season. Hall of Fame coach Bill McCartney's Buffs team started 1-1-1. That wasn't the plan, as most reputable national polls expected Colorado to contend for a national title after the tragic but magical “One Heartbeat” season of 1989.

Why Deion Sanders doesn't want Colorado to finish the season

Colorado opened the 1990 season with a tie against Tennessee in the Pigskin Classic. For future NFL first-round pick Mike Pritchard, it was the “breakout” party. Game two was at home against Stanford, and a last-second touchdown jumper by Eric Bieniemy prevented a disastrous upset. Game three was a disappointing loss at Illinois, where the Buffs blew an early 17-3 lead and lost 23-22.

I'll never forget interviewing downtrodden Buffs after the devastating setback in a tiny and crowded locker room in Champaign, Illinois. Almost every player or coach interviewed solemnly proclaimed, “We need to forget about this 'national championship' talk and focus on winning the Big Eight.” It was similar to what Coach Prime and his players did after Nebraska.

Longtime Buff fans know what happened next. Colorado rattled off ten straight wins, including a Game 5 snafu against Missouri, and defeated Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl for the school's only national championship. It was a split decision. The Buffs won the AP poll and undefeated Georgia Tech won the UPI Coaches poll (thanks to Tom Osborne).

Deion Sanders asks if Texas Tech tradition is illegal before showdown

There was no playoff system back then. Georgia Tech's ACC champion status didn't stop the Yellowjackets from carrying their No. 2 ranking to the Orange Bowl to face automatic Big 8 champions for a crucial title game in top-ranked Colorado. But the Orange Bowl committee wanted Notre Dame as the Buffaloes' opponent instead of Georgia Tech because Notre Dame had a larger fan base and would bring in more money and better TV ratings. Money conversations then and now.

Back to the present. Watching Iowa State lose at home to Texas Tech and K-State on the road to Houston stirred emotions for the 1990 team. It needed help, just like Prime's team needs help now.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Texas Tech is past the emotional climax of the rally in Ames. Third-year coach Joey McGuire's team will play in front of ecstatic home fans and would like nothing more than to shatter CU's dream of an “incredible season.”

There are others who try to discourage the team. Coach Prime reportedly talked a lot about academics during this bye week. “Discipline on the field, in the classroom, and everywhere else makes champions” is a form of rhetoric. Reminds your writer of McCartney again. He always talks about, “Love them after a great loss, but humble them when they are on the road to success.”

The Buffs storm. Lady Luck also showed up. Buff fans hope the Red Raiders don't become CU's dream Raiders.