Even though Colorado has three losses during the 2023 season, Deion Sanders continues to have a massive impact on college football. UCLA had to change its approach to seating for this weekend’s game as a result of Coach Prime’s visit to Los Angeles.
The Bruins, ranked No. 23 at 5-2, will host the Buffaloes for Homecoming on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. They are going to debut some sweet throwback uniforms during the game, and plan to do so in front of a large, sold-out crowd.
That is rare for UCLA. It’s not that the team does not fill the stadium for big games. The crosstown rivalry against USC is usually at, or pretty close to the maximum capacity.
However, with the stadium being located where it is, and Los Angeles being the sports town that it is, the crowd doesn’t show out in the same way for lower-tier games.
Here is how it looked during the season-opener against Coastal Carolina:
Typically, the Rose Bowl would not be full for a game against an unranked team with three losses. But this isn’t just any unranked team with three losses.
It’s Deion Sanders’ unranked team with three losses— for Homecoming. That changes everything.
Not only do the Bruins expect to fill the Rose Bowl, they are making additional accommodations to fit everybody.
UCLA is now removing the two outside tarps at each end for Saturday’s game against Colorado at the Rose Bowl, putting capacity at 70,865. That’s more than 3,000 above the previous figure released last week.
— Los Angeles Times reporter Ben Bolch on X, formerly known as Twitter
The Coach Prime effect is real! Not only is he filling Folsom Field in Boulder every week — for a team that won just one game last season — his team is filling stadiums on the road despite already losing three games.
Love him or hate him, it is impossible not to acknowledge the impact that Deion Sanders has had on college football in such a short amount of time. He, Shedeur, and Travis Hunter Jr. are must-see T.V. and any opportunity to see them in person is one worth pursuing.
It will be interesting to see the ratio of Colorado to UCLA fans on Saturday.