With rumors swirling about Deion Sanders’ health (and potential retirement), it’s safe to say there are few teams in college football harder to analyze than Colorado. After all, before Coach Prime, Colorado had become a football wasteland.
The 9-4 mark Deion and Colorado managed in his second season was CU’s first winning mark since 2016. Deion’s potential departure is confusing, but Colorado’s hard to figure out anyway.
With Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders definitely gone, it’s safe to wonder where this Colorado team will head. Putting aside the head coaching questions, here’s a quick look at the Buffs.
Colorado 2025 Season Preview
Offense
Bye to Shedeur Sanders, bye to Travis Hunter, bye as well to Lajohntay Wester, Will Sheppard and Jimmy Horn, so it’s a brand-new passing game. Freshman Julian Lewis and Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter will battle for the QB job.
But whoever is at QB, the receiver room is pretty vacant. Probably the top prospect here is Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams. Drelon Miller started three games last year and with 277 received yards, he’s the top returnee.
The ground game can improve certainly after averaging a CFP-worst 69 and 65 rushing yards per game over the last two seasons. Ohio State transfer Dallan Hayden could improve things in his second year at Colorado. Massive tackle Jordan Seaton will help up front, but this is definitely a work in progress.
Defense
It’s defense that Sanders and company have really improved. In the past three years, Colorado has allowed 44.5 points per game (pre-Deion) and then 34.8 points per game and 23.1 points per game. Colorado had big losses on this side of the ball, but looks a little more solid. Cornerback DJ McKinney has big play ability and Colorado had 39 sacks last year, many with returnees.
The Buffs might not be able to continue to shave massive amounts of scoring off their defensive numbers, but this is a capable defense. The question is whether they’ll get enough support from a pass-heavy offense to stay off the field enough to play well.
Special Teams
Kicker Alejandro Mata is a good one (12-for-15 last year on field goals). It’s a new punter, with Damon Greaves in from Kansas, but if it’s Deion coaching, he won’t punt much anyway. Colorado had explosive returners, but will have to break in some new athletes at those spots.
Record Prediction
Georgia Tech on the road will be a challenging opener. The Yellowjackets are a well-coached team and figure to be a bit farther along in development in week one, so that looks like an early loss. The good news is that September offers some easier games, with likely wins over Delaware, at Houston and at home against Wyoming.
The game to finish September, at home against BYU, could be telling. A year ago, Colorado didn’t get to face BYU in the regular season as both teams held CFP hopes. When those hopes were dashed, BYU crushed the Buffs in the Alamo Bowl. BYU has had its own QB transition, and with this a home game, it looks pivotal. Let’s be optimistic and call it a win.
October includes a pair of tough road games at TCU and Utah, with a challenging home game against Iowa State in the middle. A 1-2 or 0-3 month seems likely, with the home game or the game at TCU the best shots at claiming a win.
November has challenging but winnable home games with Arizona and Arizona State and road trips to West Virginia and Kansas State. A 3-1 finish is plausible.
Overall, that leaves Colorado topping out at perhaps 8-4, but that might require a home win over BYU. 7-5 could be more realistic, and it’s not hard to see how this could end up a 6-6 or even 5-7 season, particularly if the Deion rumors turn out to be more than rumors.
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