During the 2024 Colorado football Black and Gold spring game, Deion Sanders promised 99-year-old Buffs superfan Peggy Coppom a bowl game appearance. Hence, after the Buffs secured bowl eligibility with a 34-23 win over Cincinnati at the weekend, Coach Prime intended to present the game ball to Coppom to commemorate their success. But Coppom, who has been attending Colorado games since the 1940s was not present on the occasion due to illness. 

Colorado notched up their sixth win of the season and became bowl-eligible for just the third time in the past 17 years. This marks a remarkable turnaround in Coach Prime’s Year 2 with the team, which went 4-8 last year. When Sanders was appointed the HC at Boulder, there was a lot of skepticism, but long-time fan Peggy Coppom gave her stamp of approval to Sanders and he has repaid that faith.

The two have become good friends, something that “Miss Peggy” acknowledged in an earlier interview. Hence, it was no surprise that after the Cincinnati win, Coach Prime decided to his friend a call and reveal what the team has achieved. An Instagram post by rivalsdotcom on October 28 featured Deion Sanders talking to his players about Peggy.

He said, “She is suffering from COVID right and she couldn’t make it, which tears us apart. But we’re gonna put a call into her and let her know, she’s going to a bowl game.” Putting her on the call, he told Peggy, “We love you, we appreciate you, and we wanna thank you and we congratulate you for being able to go to a bowl game this year.” At the end of the call, all the Buffs players and coaches said, “We love you Peggy” on Deion Sanders’ 1, 2, 3. 

After hearing from Coach Prime, Peggy Coppom broke down and showed her appreciation for what the team has achieved. She answered the call, “I’m so happy thank you so much for the turnaround you have done for us. Thank you for that.” 

On Sunday, Boulder real estate agent Lauren Levy provided an update on Peggy’s health in a tweet. She noted, “To clarify some news…Peggy had Covid 3 weeks ago. She has recovered fully but still gets tired. So a late game is too hard for her. But she is doing much better. She was attending the Buffs Belles luncheons again last weds.” She also noted that Peggy is recovering from hip surgery which is a testament to her resilience at her age.

During the post-game presser on Saturday, Sanders also addressed Peggy and the call they had with her, while sharing the plans to get Peggy to the bowl game.

“We told her she’s going to a bowl. Now we want to make sure she goes to the best possible bowl that she could possibly go to. That means a lot to us, that really does. She was so appreciative and thankful. She means so much to this program, so we’re glad we could honor her in that. Now we’ve just gotta get a private plane to make sure she’s comfortable on the way there. Yeah, we ain’t putting Peggy on a regular plane, I promise you that,” Coach Prime said.

The bond between Miss Peggy and Sanders has stood out during the former NFL player’s stint as coach in Boulder. In 2023, he invited Peggy to the 2023 Spring Game, where she kicked the ball off to open the game and Sanders announced her as the MVP of that game. They also celebrated a 2023 win over Nebraska by dancing together.

In his second year in Boulder, Deion Sanders has improved the Buffs by leaps and bounds. Since the shortened 2020 COVID season, when they recorded 4-2, Colorado hadn’t made a bowl appearance. And he’s on the verge of doing what other HCs in Colorado couldn’t do in two decades. The Buffs haven’t won a bowl game since 2004 but can Deion Sanders change that history too?

Can Deion Sanders get Colorado to the Big 12 Championship game?

A change in history is likely on the cards; at least it’s there on the mind of Deion Sanders. Speaking after securing bowl eligibility he said, “It’s cute, it really is. Because we really want that. But that’s not all we’re after. That’s one of the hurdles that we’re jumping over, that we’re going over. That’s a tremendous hurdle. We’re happy, we’re excited.” However, he stated that he is aiming much higher.

“But that’s not the end goal for us. That’s the beginning. But we are thankful and appreciative that the hard work is going noticed,” Sanders said.

If Colorado keeps up with their momentum, it’s not impossible for them to find a spot in the Big 12 championship game. They sit No. 23 in the AP Poll Top 25 rankings but Coach Prime isn’t too bothered. 

He said, “We don’t even want to be ranked. Don’t rank us, please. We don’t like that. We’d rather be at the back, in the dark, just chilling in the cut.” It looks like Coach Prime is happy with the Buffs being tagged as underdogs which has led them to some spectacular results this season.

After their Week 8 win over the Arizona Wildcats, Sanders had said that they want Peggy to get to a “nice bowl” and not just bowl. With the way his team has been performing this season, it doesn’t seem out of their reach.