Deion Sanders and Colorado have changed plenty of minds about the expectations for the first-year coach with the Buffaloes after they beat TCU, 45-42.

ESPN play-by-play voice Chris Fowler, a Colorado alum who also called the spring game, was a guest on The Dan Patrick Show and admitted that he didn’t think Sanders would take the job at all. Fowler recalled that the leaders at Colorado did a great job in selling Sanders that he would have autonomy to run the program his way.

However, given the state of the program, Fowler admitted that Sanders exceeded expectations after the TCU game.

“I think that was attractive to him,” Fowler said of Sanders having freedom. “I think he actually loved the scenery out there, that’s not acting. I didn’t know for sure he’d have this kind of quick success, Dan, but I knew the roster needed an overhaul. When you’re on the slab, cold, dead, concrete as a program. Boom, you need someone to go in there and shock it to life. Because energy is better than no energy. Buzz is better than no buzz, belief is better than no belief. I didn’t think that he’d be able to sell that vision to as many top recruits as he has and overhaul their roster in a way we’ve never seen it done before.”

Fowler enjoyed the TCU win mostly because he didn’t see it coming.

“Man, that was fun to watch, that TCU game, I was stunned, man,” Fowler said. “I did not think they’d be able to go out and execute like that and beat a team that beat Michigan in the Playoff last year. I was euphoric, I was proud, but I was really surprised.”

Now the focus shifts to a stretch of games Fowler believed all along would be a turning point in the season.

“I thought from the start the success of this season might be defined by those 2 games. I expected a loss in Fort Worth, I’m not going to lie. I didn’t believe, as Coach Prime would say. But I do believe they can beat Nebraska and CSU,” Fowler said. “I think they’re a slight favorite in that game. There are still a lot of skeptics, Matt Rhule, I expected them to get a bump, that was a disappointing loss they had in Minnesota in Game 1. They’ll bring it. I mean Deion, he laughed at me when I said, ‘You make your team a big target every game just by your presence and your personality.’ He laughed and said, ‘I’m used to a big target.’ Yeah, you are, it’s your whole world. This roster has never been a target, it’s never been the focus of any opponent.”

Now with a new perception nationally, the Nebraska-Colorado game will reveal how Sanders’ team handles success.

“I think they should win the game, they’re hard to stop, you’re going to have to score points to beat them,” Fowler said.