ESPN labels surprising figure as Colorado football's biggest archenemy

If you were to list Colorado football’s enemies, most fans might immediately suggest Nebraska is the clear No. 1, or maybe now it is all the Coach Prime haters, but what if it was one former flash-in-the-pan coach?

ESPN curated a list of every power-conference team’s archenemies, and to my surprise and likely other Buff fans, the outlet picked Mel Tucker as Colorado’s most hated team, or in this case, figure.

The Mel Tucker tenure at CU was arguably the lowest point for the program in the last 15 years, perhaps even worse than the 1-11 2022 season. Tucker went 5-7 during his first season with the Buffaloes in 2019, and during the next offseason, he talked excitedly about the future, especially considering Tucker’s track record of recruiting. That never happened, as after an event in February 2020, Tucker bolted for Michigan State and more money. He earned the nickname Midnight Mel for his sneaky, out-the-back-door move.

Tucker’s departure left the program in a terrible situation, having to hire a new head coach in February right before the whole world would shut down due to the pandemic. CU pivoted to Karl Dorrell, a longtime college coach and former Buffaloes’ assistant. He was a fine stopgap coach, but it was clear from the get-go that he had nowhere near the potential as Tucker.

Dorrell was fired midway through the 1-11 season, and Deion Sanders was hired that winter. Without a doubt, Tucker’s departure set Colorado back a few years, and truthfully, other than the 9-4 2024 season, the Buffaloes are still trying to put a consistent product on the field.

Most CU fans likely won’t immediately think of Tucker as the program’s archenemy, but the case is there to be made. Perhaps Buff Nation should view the whole debacle as the biggest silver lining ever because, in some roundabout way, it led to the hire of Deion Sanders.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: ESPN labels surprising figure as Colorado football’s biggest archenemy