Colorado may still be a year away from bowl season, but the national temperature around the Buffaloes is clearly warming up.
That was the read from Chip Patterson during CBS Sports’ Big 12 Media Days coverage last week. The college football analyst and Cover 3 College Football Podcast host pegged Colorado for a 5-7 finish in 2026, a result that would leave Deion Sanders’ team one win short of the postseason. It’s a step below the 6-6 prediction we laid out earlier this month, but the message is the same: Colorado looks better, even if the bowl line remains just out of reach.
“I think that this is a team that will find competitiveness, but due to the schedule strength is going to end up falling a game short,” Patterson said. “I’ve got them at 5-7. If it does end up being a bowl team, it will not be a surprise.”
Patterson’s outlook wasn’t built around Colorado’s rough 3-9 season. Instead, he pointed to what has changed in Boulder, starting with Sanders himself.
“I think what they should feel is that their head coach is healthy,” Patterson said. “It is undeniable. He is full back, full Coach Prime all the way to 10.”
That was a clear contrast to last season, when Sanders later revealed he had been dealing privately with bladder cancer. At Big 12 Media Days this year, he looked and sounded like the version of Coach Prime everyone knows - joking with reporters, bringing up Rudy and The Five Heartbeats, praising the experience on his staff and carrying the same confidence that has defined his program.
Patterson also sees real football reasons for optimism. Colorado has turned over key parts of the staff, and that kind of reset can matter fast.
“He has a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator, a lot of new players, and that’s a great way for them to be able to move forward,” Patterson said.
The biggest reason for the buzz is redshirt freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis, who is expected to open the season as the starter. Patterson likes the fit between Lewis and new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s up-tempo system, especially with the receiver room getting a boost through the transfer portal.
He singled out DeAndre Moore Jr. from Texas, Kam Perry from Miami (Ohio) and Danny Scudero from San Jose State as additions who could help Colorado become one of the Big 12’s more dangerous passing teams.
“This could be a very, very dynamic offense,” Patterson said.
For Patterson, though, the schedule is what keeps the Buffaloes from getting over the hump. That’s the difference between five wins and six, and why he landed on 5-7 instead of a bowl berth.
“If it does end up being a bowl team, it will not be a surprise,” he said.
That lines up closely with the 6-6 forecast we reached earlier this month. The exact number may differ, but the broader picture does not: Colorado should be a much tougher team in 2026, and the conversation around Sanders’ program has shifted accordingly.
If Lewis grows quickly, Marion’s offense clicks and new defensive coordinator Chris Marve gets the defense moving in the right direction, the Buffaloes could beat both projections. For now, though, the national view is pretty clear.
Colorado is no longer being talked about as a team trying to prove it can belong in the Big 12. The question now is whether it’s ready to take the next step back toward postseason football.
In Other News...
Colorado Still Has 5 Starting Jobs Fans Will Be Watching Closely
Colorados 2026 roster is going to look a lot different, and that means fall camp will do plenty of sorting for Deion Sanders and his staff. With new faces all over the depth chart and a push to rebound from last season, the Buffaloes have real competition brewing in the secondary, along the defensive front, at quarterback, linebacker and on the offensive line. It is the kind of offseason where almost every practice rep matters, because several jobs are open and plenty of transfers and returners have a case to make.
The secondary and safety spots alone could keep the staff busy, while the front seven is still searching for the right mix to generate consistent pressure and hold up against the run. On offense, the quarterback picture and the line in front of him are just as important, since Colorado needs both stability and playmaking to take a step forward. The big question now is how quickly those battles settle once camp gets rolling, because the answers there will go a long way toward shaping the Buffaloes season. [Read more 🡒]
Boo Carter Just Got Pulled Into A Colorado Ranking Debate
ESPNs latest transfer portal update gave Colorado one clear foothold in the national conversation: wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., who landed at No. 26 after the shake-up at the top of the list. Moore is the lone Buffaloes player in the rankings, a reminder that while Colorado brought in plenty of new faces, not every addition has broken through into the wider portal buzz.
The bigger picture around Boulder is a little more complicated. Colorado was already left out of the Big 12s spotlight last week, and several other newcomers, including Danny Scudero, Boo Carter and Gideon Lampron, also missed the cut. Moores appeal is easy to see, though, especially with his leadership and his familiarity with offensive coordinator Brennan Marion as the Buffs begin installing the Go-Go offense. [Read more 🡒]
One Colorado Holdover Just Became A Perfect Deion Sanders Story
Ben Finneseths rise has become one of those Colorado stories that fits the Deion Sanders era perfectly: a player who kept showing up, kept working and kept earning more responsibility. The safety has gone from an overlooked piece to someone Sanders publicly trusts, and the coach has been quick to point to Finneseths effort and reliability as reasons his role keeps expanding.
Finneseths path also says something about the new look of this roster, where persistence can still matter as much as pedigree. He has already become a more visible part of the Buffaloes plans, and the next question is how far that trajectory can go now that he has a scholarship and a coach clearly willing to keep investing in him. [Read more 🡒]