Desmond Howard provides the blueprint for how Colorado can surprise USC

Desmond Howard believes there’s a path for the Colorado Buffaloes to defeat the USC Trojans in Boulder on Saturday.

While some of the shine pertaining to Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes has worn off following their blowout loss to Oregon last weekend, Howard isn’t giving up all hope. While many believe USC is better than the Ducks, as they possess the reigning Heisman winner in Caleb Williams, the ESPN analyst explained why Colorado has a shot.

“The blueprint would be to be able to go in there full strength, but obviously because of a cheap hit that Travis Hunter, their all-star, superstar two-way player suffered during their Colorado State game, they’re going there without him,” Howard stated. “But you know what, they do have some skill. … Now you’re going up against a USC team who defensively, they’re still not excellent. They’re still not great, especially out in space. … Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback at Colorado, still has some weapons at his disposal. If these guys can get the ball out in space, make some plays, they can put some pressure on that USC defense.

“It could potentially look like the TCU game, where it’s like a track meet, both offenses going up and down the field.”

Of course, the victory over the Horned Frogs put Colorado on everyone’s radar, as the Buffaloes matched TCU score for score, until eventually doing enough to get the win. As Howard mentioned, it’ll be difficult to recreate that magic without the aforementioned Hunter, but it’s not impossible.

Colorado will be motivated to get back to their winning ways, and Deion Sanders will have the Buffaloes ready, but USC has designs on getting to the College Football Playoff, and will be prepared for whatever comes their way on Saturday.

Deion Sanders shares how Colorado has responded to Oregon loss

Meanwhile, Deion Sanders could be down in the dumps and upset about the Oregon loss. Especially with a really solid USC team coming to Boulder this week. But there could not be a more opposite mindset from Coach Prime.

He is not going to stop with the high energy just because of a loss. Colorado is going to have the same work ethic heading into Saturday’s contest.

“We’re still on a high,” Sanders said. “We’re not on a seesaw. We don’t go up with the weight coming down. We rock steady. We’re still on a natural high, still working out butts off to achieve perfection. We’re still loving what we’re doing, doing what we love. 

“We’re still who we are. Things just happen in life but we can’t stop. We got to continue to stop and move forward and move expeditiously and still walk our path.”