USC football: 3 takeaways from Trojans’ high-scoring win over Colorado

3. No one loves Colorado and Coach Prime like Gus Johnson

The guy who complains about announcer bias is usually the most annoying guy to talk football with, but on rare occasions they are right. Most television commentators in the sport do a great job riding the line of neutrality, and while most announcers have more familiarity with some programs than others, they typically do a good job of hiding it.

Then, there’s Gus Johnson with Coach Prime and Colorado.

Gus has been one of the best play-by-play guys in the sport, but in 2023, he seems to have become a pretty one-sided cheerleader for the Buffaloes. It’s been an embarrassing mark on an otherwise tremendous broadcasting career.

On Saturday, USC tailback Marshawn Lloyd had a spectacular touchdown run to open the game, and Gus sounded flat-out bored.

Meanwhile, when Colorado found the end zone, Gus expressed no shortage of excitement:

Gus has been a universally beloved announcer before this season, so the growing criticism on X has been especially striking to see.

There’s no shame in being excited about what Coach Prime has done at Colorado, but calling the national television broadcast comes with an expectation of neutrality. Johnson has not met that expectation in 2023.