This is an opinion piece.

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It’s time for some dangerously bold college football predictions, forecasts, and prime-time prognostications. Of course, we start with Deion Sanders.

Is there anyone more relevant in the entire sport than Coach Prime?

Sanders and Colorado opened the season with a win on Thursday against North Dakota State. Most people will reflexively laugh at the idea of ​​CU’s narrow 31-26 win against NDSU because it is anything but impressive. Those people are dumb fools and don’t know the differences between Buffalo and the Bison.

People love to hate Coach Prime. Take Paul Finebaum, ESPN’s public relations lackey in the SEC. Finebaum called Sanders irrelevant earlier this week. It couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s no one more famous in the entire sport of college football. Sanders is a change agent, and his popularity is one of the best things to happen to college football in a long time.

Colorado football has guts, which is more than I can say for most teams in the SEC. They are too scared to even play nine conference games. Coach Prime is here to open the season with a dub against nine-time FCS national champion North Dakota State.

Opening the season with North Dakota State takes guts. Pound for pound, NDSU is arguably the best college football program in the country. For Colorado, which went 4-8 last season, it was a huge gamble.

Coach Prime took advantage of the spotlight and agreed to move the game to Thursday night. Brilliant. Not only did Colorado get national attention to start the season, but the Buffs now have a few extra days to prepare for their Week 2 game against Nebraska. It also gives people plenty to talk about.

Sanders should make amends with Denver Post columnist Sean Keeler this week. Shutting Keeler out for being critical was a mistake. I like Coach Prime because he coaches with an old-school flair that reminds me of Bobby Bowden. But Sanders should think about how Bowden treated the reporters who covered FSU. Whether he won or lost on Saturday, Bowden met with the FSU press corps every Sunday morning for breakfast.

Pure class.

Colorado went from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 this season and Coach Prime is my pick for Big 12 coach of the year. The Buffs’ toughest game of the season is in Arizona.

As for SEC coach of the year, I’m going with new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer

HEISMAN CHOICE

Colorado has two of the best players in college football. One is quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son. The other is Travis Hunter, who plays defensive back and wide receiver. Hunter is my pick to win the Heisman Trophy this season. He had seven receptions for 132 yards and three touchdowns against NDSU.

Defensively, Hunter is a lockdown corner in the mold of a young Coach Prime. The only question for Hunter at this point is whether he can stay healthy playing so many snaps this season.

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is an underrated talent and my pick for SEC Player of the Year.

He’s a physical monster in the style of Tim Tebow, but with a better arm and faster wheels. Tebow was a fullback with one arm and his toughness set the tone for Florida. Milroe will have to find that edge against Georgia, Tennessee and Auburn, and I bet he can.

PLAYOFF CHOICES

(12) Boise State vs. (5) Oregon, with the winner playing (4) Colorado.

(9) Ole Miss at (8) Alabama, with the winner playing (1) Ohio State

(11) BYU at (6) Texas, with winners playing at (3) Miami

(10) Georgia Tech at (7) Notre Dame, with the winner playing at (2) Georgia

Tasty stuff.

QUARTER FINALS

Oregon vs Colorado

Alabama vs. Ohio State

Texas vs. Miami

Notre Dame vs. Georgia

NATIONAL CHAMPION

The Irish defeat Ohio State in the final.

MAIL BAG

Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind for the mailbag. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Gordon in Birmingham writes…

I’m a huge AU fan, but I find it hard to have coaches Pearl and Freeze. They’re great coaches and both recruit well. I go crazy and watch all the games. But as people, I just don’t know. I wish I liked them as people, but sometimes they give me goosebumps. I wish Pearl would say less. I understand his stance on Israel, but with his vote for Trump and his conversations with Tom Cotton (yikes), my opinion of Coach as a person is lower.

With Freeze, he and his wife were invited to Mar-a-Lago and they accepted. I think Trump is one of the worst people in the world. And an idiot. But we knew Freeze’s history going in. And Tubs has proven his stupidity from the moment he got to DC. Just my opinion, but it’s hard to be an AU fan. Mixed feelings.

ANSWER: Freeze has grown on me. I love his candor and transparency. The same goes for Pearl, one of my favorite coaches of all time. Don’t let off-field decisions and coaches’ opinions take away your love for Auburn.

Terry writes…

Two more quick things:

1. Labor Day weekend 2022 we traded opinions on Nix leaving Auburn for Oregon. While I loved and still love the guy, I was tired of being bashed for his wise departure. I told you, “Athlon has him rated the 56th best QB in the country for 2022. He probably won’t get a job in the NFL.” It should be obvious I was WRONG, as he’s taking snaps as the starter in Denver. I have to own up to my mistake.

2. I am an Auburn voter because of my graduation from there and the fact that I have been blessed to be an academic scholarship donor. I saw my first Auburn football game in 1960, before sliced ​​bread was invented. I am very concerned about Pearl and appreciate your article today. Of course he has a right to free speech. But I think it is fair to say that he is paid to represent Auburn 24-7, just like President (Christopher B.) Roberts. When he says things in public that cause many people to form a negative opinion of Auburn University, it reflects badly on Auburn. In my opinion, (athletics director John) Cohen should advise him. Of course, an attorney should help determine how far Auburn can go in reprimanding him.

ANSWER: Sen.-elect Bruce Pearl (R-Alabama) may not get your vote, but he certainly has your attention.

Joseph Goodman is the leading sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”