Fact or Fiction: Colorado is a legit contender to win the Pac-12
Rivals national recruiting analysts Clint Cosgrove and John Garcia Jr. – along with Rivals recruiting director Adam Gorney and national analyst and InsideNebraska.com senior recruiting analyst Greg Smith – tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Colorado is a legit contender to win the Pac-12 this season.
Cosgrove's take:: FACT. I know it is only one game, but you can no longer count Colorado out from anything after the Buffaloes' performance against TCU in Week 1. This team has taken on Coach Prime's swagger and has big-time playmakers at the skill positions. The offense is absolutely explosive under offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, who found ways to manufacture yards and get players in space when the traditional run game was not working. The key here will be staying healthy as there isn't a ton of depth and the Buffaloes appear to lack talent in the trenches.
Losing an elite player such as Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders or Dylan Edwards could be catastrophic. That being said, I don't see many limits for this Colorado team if it continues to perform like it did over the weekend.
Garcia's take: FACT. Defining a contender is always fun this time of year, but few should deny the impression CU made on the road at the national runner-up from one season ago. The Buffs and that high-flying offense will be favored against rivals Nebraska and Colorado State the next two weeks before back-to-back games against conference powers Oregon and USC. Splitting those will keep the title conversation relevant but the defense CU showed on Saturday could lead to high dependency on a high-scoring offense throughout Coach Prime's first campaign. The skill position players could come together for that type of run, but defensive improvement in short order is the better path to contention. But until those first two games of conference play, yes the Buffs should be presented as Pac-12 contenders.
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2. Nebraska will make it to a bowl game this season.
Cosgrove's Take: FACT. There weren't a ton of positives to take away from Matt Rhule's debut at Nebraska, but there were just enough for me to believe there is a path to six wins. Quarterback Jeff Sims needs to make better decisions and the coaches need to protect him a little better with their play calling in critical situations, but his ability to beat a defense with his legs is the ultimate equalizer. The defense looked solid, but the real test will come Saturday against Colorado's offense. I think we will know a lot more after the upcoming weekend, and the Huskers will have to win every game in which they have a talent advantage, but I'm not ready to count the Huskers out just yet.
Smith's take: FACT. It feels like the sky is falling in Lincoln because Rhule couldn’t beat a Minnesota team that has won nine games in three of the last four seasons. The Huskers could very well lose this weekend against the high-flying Colorado offense to fall to 0-2. I’m still optimistic that Rhule will find a way to squeak out six wins and have the team playing better ball at the end of the year than the beginning. Don’t sell your Rhule stock yet, Nebraska fans.
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3. Video and audio calls via X (Twitter) will become the primary communication method for college coaches and recruits.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. I truly believe X's calling feature has the opportunity to change the way coaches and recruits communicate moving forward. The platform is already the first point of contact for many coaches and recruits because it doesn't require either party to have the others' contact information and since the first contact is often made via the platform – the conversation often continues there. While many recruits prefer to text and DM as opposed to talk or FaceTime, the option to call via the app will make it easier to connect on a deeper level, and unlike a phone which recruits often feel obligated to answer – calling through the app will naturally feel less intrusive for a recruit that doesn't wish to talk.
Gorney's take: FICTION. I'm going to say fiction for now because coaches and players have their own established ways of communicating and most top prospects only like to text or talk through DM anyway. It could become one of the ways coaches talk to players and it could be a useful tool for coaches who haven't tracked down a phone number yet, but I see this more being used for corporate America instead of a Zoom work call or for friends who want to jump on a conference call and watch Monday Night Football together.