The hysteria, if we're being honest, was unreasonable.

The coverage was overwhelming.

The way Colorado has been dissected since Deion "Prime" Sanders was hired—and the many immediate evolutions that followed—seemed completely and utterly nonsensical.

He made a splash with his arrival, and the noise followed. He overturned the starting roster on both sides of the ball in a matter of months, doing so with incredible confidence and bravado that was not always received well.

He did it in a way only he could, and truth be told, we never quite believed him. Well, not everyone. It was all too much and too soon.

Only it wasn't. After Saturday, that much is certain.

Despite all that was written and said about Sanders and his new arrivals, it turns out it wasn't enough. Colorado is here, and Sanders' impact after only one Saturday is hard to process in the immediate aftermath of one of the wildest Week 1 games in recent memory.

The score tells a story: Colorado conquered TCU 45-42 as a three-touchdown underdog, prevailing in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final drive.

The Buffaloes defense made a stop with time dwindling in the fourth quarter, something rarely uttered throughout the game.

All told, the two teams combined for 1,106 yards of offense and 57 first downs. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son who transferred from Jackson State when his father took the job, accounted for nearly half the production.

The 21-year-old passed for 510 yards in his Power Five debut, silencing any notion that he might struggle with a new team and increased competition.

"Shedeur? From the HBCU? The one you asked me why I gave him the starting job? I got receipts," Deion said in the postgame press conference following the win.

For as absurd as Shedeur was against TCU, he didn't produce Colorado's most jaw-dropping debut. That honor belongs to Travis Hunter, who also transferred to the Buffaloes from Jackson State.

Hunter played 129 snaps in blistering heat on Saturday, excelling at both wideout and cornerback. On offense, he caught 11 passes for 119 yards. His production could've been even greater if a few throws were slightly more on target.

On defense, he intercepted a crucial TCU pass in the red zone, broke up two other passes and blanketed his competition all afternoon long.

Simply put, it's unlike anything the sport has seen in recent memory. To have this kind of an impact on both offense and defense in your very first game with a program is, well, hard to put into words.

The impact feels almost Shohei Ohtani-esque. While it's difficult to compare anyone to Ohtani—let alone cross sports to do so—it's the only true comparison that comes to mind after something so unique.

"He is him," Deion said of Hunter at halftime. "He gets those two deep balls, the Heisman is at his crib chilling right now."

After the game, both Shedeur and Hunter saw their Heisman odds take seismic shift. Sanders from 150/1 to 40/1, while Hunter dropped from 100/1 to 40/1. Given the sheer magnitude of their performances, none of it should be considered a surprise.

At the moment, though, the Heisman can wait. The performances, from the team and the individuals, must be celebrated.

While Shedeur and Hunter came away as the stars, they had company. Dylan Edwards, one of the most coveted running backs in the 2023 class, scored four touchdowns in his first-ever collegiate game.

He, like many others, believed in Sanders enough to join him in Boulder. And almost immediately, it would appear to be a brilliant decision.

The offense was fast and organized. The defense, while certainly a work in progress, made a stop when it had to.

The result is something that feels so much larger than one win. For Colorado, it has now matched its win total from last season in only one game. The Buffaloes also won a road game over a top-20 team for the first time in more than two decades.

This is a program that has been largely dormant, a once proud power that has spent the better part of the last two decades adrift. It has now been brought back to life in a way different from anything the sport has ever seen.

To be clear, we can pause the notion that Colorado is a threat to win the national title or even the Pac-12. Even the Heisman chatter, while easier to piece together, seems entirely too premature.

But the statement is real, and the energy is undeniable. The only thing greater than the hype at this point is the unbelievable progress that has been made, and that's where this fairytale of a football story starts to get legs.

For months, Deion has told us that his team was coming. And for months, many have questioned whether it could actually happen this fast. He did it his way, and his personality has shined throughout.

No matter what happens next, starting with a home game against Nebraska next week, Colorado has blossomed into the most interesting team in college football. It's not a development we saw coming, no matter how much time we've spent processing the possibility.

Well, most of us, at least.