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Deion Sanders slams late-night kickoffs in college football as ‘stupidest thing ever’
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Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes host Stanford this Friday. By the time the game reaches halftime, it’s entirely possible most of the East Coast will already be asleep.
It’s a 7 p.m. PT kickoff in Boulder, which means it’s a 10 p.m. start time out on the East Coast. Sanders said Wednesday on the Buffs PrimeTime radio show that he’s happy Colorado is leaving the Pac-12 because late-night kickoffs are the “stupidest thing ever invented in life.”
“Who makes these 8 o’clock games? Dumbest thing ever. Stupidest thing ever invented in life. Who wants to stay up until 8 o’clock for a darn game?” Sanders said. “What about the East Coast? Do they even care about ratings? Is anyone watching it? What are we supposed to do with the kids all day until 8 o’clock? What are you supposed to do in the hotel?”
Colorado has mostly enjoyed early kicks this season. It was the Big Noon Kickoff showcase game on FOX during the first two weeks of the regular season. The Colorado State game in Week 3 was a 7 p.m. PT kick and the game lasted more than four hours.
CU had earlier kicks against Oregon and USC, then played in the afternoon against Arizona State.
No matter when the Buffs have played, they’ve been a ratings success this season.
The double-overtime win over Colorado State drew more than nine million viewers and became the most-watched late game ever on ESPN. The win over Nebraska in Week 2 set a FOX record. The loss to Oregon drew 10 million viewers and outdueled Ohio State-Notre Dame.
With Coach Prime in town, visibility has not been an issue for Colorado.
Still, Sanders would like to see his team in the earlier windows.
“Thank God we’re not going to be in this conference,” Sanders said, as cheers from the audience could be heard in the background.
Colorado moves to the Big 12 next season. With this latest bit of expansion, that conference’s footprint now spans three timezones — Eastern, Central, and Mountain.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
