USC, Colorado bring similar rebuilds into titanic Saturday battle
Examining the wildly different and yet generally alike leadership styles of Lincoln Riley and Deion Sanders
Luca Evans (OC Register) — In appearance, in public persona and style, the architects behind two of the most visible programs in college football couldn’t possibly be more different.
One is an oft-described football genius with a light Southern drawl and heavy weight on his shoulders, who has made waves helming two national contenders but earned heavy backlash in the process, who often approaches the public with cards tucked carefully against his chest.
One is a bona fide marketing genius who has led an entire city – scratch, that, country – to rally behind cowboy hats and shades, inspiring collegiate football hope in the town of Boulder, Colorado, where there was little, so self-aware of his own incendiary charisma that he’ll show his cards to anyone who asks and dare ’em to raise the pot.
So Sanders and Riley have waxed poetic about the job the other’s done in pre-week availability, a far cry from Colorado’s recent opponents
“I see right where he’s coming from,” Riley said Tuesday.
Yes, their approaches are radically different. But Sanders has been genuine in that approach, Riley said. And leadership, Riley expressed later in the week, thrives on authenticity.
“When I’ve seen, in my opinion, guys fail or mess up or maybe not hit the mark, it’s been like – guys try to be something they’re not,” Riley told media Thursday. “And then the people they’re leading typically see through that.”
The trajectories of two of the most vaunted leaders – and interesting personalities – collide Saturday at Folsom Field, a game that Trojans and Buffs fans have had circled and the national media have licked their chops over since Sanders began dominating college football headlines.
When Colorado has the ball
Through three weeks, Jackson State transfer Shedeur Sanders was generating considerable Heisman Trophy buzz. That vanished in the span of four quarters and a single touchdown at Oregon. Only so much a man can do, though, when he ends up on his backside seven times; the quarterback has thrived in spite of a flimsy line, completing 77% of his passes with 11 touchdowns.
“That’s phenomenal,” Deion Sanders said of his son in pre-week media availability, “considering what we’ve given up sack-wise and pressures.”
When USC has the ball
The main area emerging for USC to correct last Saturday – of many – was pre-snap issues. The Trojans racked up six penalties in the first quarter alone, the offensive line looking so out of sync at times in a roaring ASU atmosphere that Justin Dedich accidentally snapped a ball directly into an unsuspecting Williams’ groin.
“It probably was somewhat disappointing, that we’ve been practicing crowd noise since day three of camp,” Trojans offensive line coach Josh Henson said Wednesday. “So we didn’t handle it very well. We’re going to handle it better.”
NO. 8 USC (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) AT COLORADO (3-1, 0-1)
Saturday, 9 a.m. PT, Folsom Field, Boulder, Colo, FOX (Ch. 11)/790 AM
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