How lucky are we to have witnessed what we did Saturday morning, watching Colorado turn Coach Prime’s unfounded proclamations into hard facts in a stunning 45-42 win over defending national runner-up TCU?

It is not often that we are given the opportunity to see expectations shattered and possibilities reimagined. As you get older, the element of surprise becomes one of life’s greatest commodities. That’s why surprise parties are so popular: When you are 52 years old and your kids and spouses and bosses are hounding you every day, you start to think the world has forgotten about you. You open that door and see all your friends and it is a reminder that tomorrow doesn’t have to be yesterday.

It is especially true in the sporting world, where even our most casual of opinions become self-gospel. I am convinced John Elway is the greatest quarterback of all time, and you’ll never change my mind.

So to watch Colorado and its mad experiment come to fruition, Deion Sanders has to feel a bit like Ben Franklin, watching sparks fly from a key in the sky on a rainy day in June 1752.

Prime’s postulation — that a bunch of new faces could come together as one, quicker and faster than any other team in college football history — has proven correct, if only for a morning.

But what a morning it was.

*****

Speaking of quicker and faster: The surest sign things were different came on the opening kickoff.

Colorado swarmed kickoff returner Major Everhart with at least 6 hats on the ball, just about beating all the Horned Frogs to the position.

It was insignificant, unless you’d watched the Buffaloes lumber down the field last year.

Colorado of a year ago wasn’t bad, it was historically awful, the culmination of years of mismanagement and low expectations. After Mel Tucker left the program in the cold following a lone 5-7 campaign in 2019, the Buffaloes turned the human bowl of oatmeal that is Karl Dorrell, one of the most ineffectual head coaches in the game. Under Dorrell’s watch, 4-star talent became rare and even 3-star prospects were hard to come by.

Worse, the Buffaloes had awful, self-defeating habits.

That’s why Coach Prime’s complete roster overhaul was warranted, and in one non-descript kickoff coverage, it was clear Colorado was faster, more united and simply better than last year.

Then they proved it over the next 3-plus hours.

After a 3-and-out on TCU’s first drive, the Buffaloes marched 73 yards on 13 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass from Shedeur Sanders to Dylan Edwards, 1 of their 3 scoring connections on the day. That was just the start.

By the end of the game, Colorado’s new quarterback had set a program record in his very first start with nothing short of one of the best passing performances in Pac-12 history. For the day, Sanders completed 38-of-47 passes (81%) for a school-record 510 yards with 4 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

“Wonderful game, wonderful beginning — intriguing, passionate, purposeful — it was all of that,” Deion Sanders said. “We had some guys that singled themselves out with their playing ability. A lot of guys you doubted — one of them from an HBCU. I think he had 510 yards passing in a Power 5 football game, and he happens to be my son and I’m proud of him. Tremendously.”

It was the kind of performance that announces to the world one’s Heisman candidacy.

Only problem is there might be a split vote.

*****

In addition to the general incredulity about the very premise of replacing nearly an entire college football roster, the best minds in the sport were absolutely convinced that, in the modern game, no player can successfully play top level football on both sides of the ball.

We celebrate the Chuck Bednariks of the world, but that was a different game in a very different time and a very different position.

Watching Travis Hunter not only go both ways, but arguably make the biggest impact on both sides of the ball at wide receiver and cornerback — and for the entire game, no less — again makes you question what is possible.

Hunter wasn’t just a 2-way player. The dude had 11 receptions for 119 yards and a game- changing interception while playing lockdown defense. He became the talk of college football for three hours. You just don’t see something like this. Ever.

“Travis is it,” Prime said. “I really think – and I promote all my kids — I really think that we have a couple guys who should be front-runners for the Heisman. Who did that? Who did what they did today?”

*****

So now what is possible?

Colorado was a 3-touchdown underdog against a team that beat Michigan in the national semifinals last year. Most national pundits predicted 3 or fewer wins for the Buffaloes this year; I had them at 5-7 and felt like I was the one going out on a limb.

Now 5 wins feels like the absolute floor. A 3-0 start heading into a Week 4 showdown at Oregon suddenly seems a probability, not not even a possibility.

The Buffs have clearly bought into Coach Prime’s swagger and message. If they stay healthy, the sky is the limit. It seems impossible because we’ve never seen this before, but that’s what makes it beautiful. Who doesn’t love a good surprise? And the Buffaloes? A good surprise.

They are here, and they are here to stay.