Colorado will keep its starting offensive line intact against Northwestern, but the Buffaloes are going into the game without one of their most experienced interior options. Veteran center Demetrius Hunter is out, meaning Sean Kinney will get the start again.
DNVR Buffs reporter Scott Procter said about an hour before kickoff that “Colorado center Demetrius Hunter is OUT today. Sean Kinney gets the start again.”
Kinney has opened the first two games at center and will now make his third straight start in front of quarterback Julian Lewis. Hunter’s absence does not change the five-man unit on the field - Bo Hughley, Chauncey Gooden, Kinney, Jayvon McFaden and Leon Bell remain the starters - but it does remove a proven backup if things go sideways in the middle.
That matters because Hunter brings real mileage. Colorado added him after he logged 25 career starts at Houston, including 24 straight over his final two seasons. According to the Buffaloes’ bio, he played 1,541 snaps and gave up two sacks in 757 pass-blocking opportunities, per Pro Football Focus.
Hunter talked about the value of that kind of experience in an April interview with Colorado Athletics.
“A lot of it is muscle memory, Hunter said. “Just knowing what you’ve seen before and applying it.”
Colorado is missing that veteran insurance now, and that puts a little more pressure on Kinney to settle things down cleanly. He is not stepping in cold, either - he started the opener at Georgia Tech before Hunter replaced him in the second quarter and then suffered an injury of his own. Hunter missed the Weber State game and will also sit out the Northwestern matchup.
The snapping exchange is one of the details worth tracking. Kinney had issues with snaps in the humid opener before Hunter entered, and he has not had two additional weeks to work with Lewis since then.
The Buffaloes also have another injury situation to monitor at receiver. Danny Scudero remains a question mark.
“I don’t know if Danny’s going to be healthy this week," coach Deion Sanders said during Colorado’s Tuesday press conference in Boulder.
Wide receivers coach Rashad Davis echoed that uncertainty on Wednesday: “We may see him on Saturday; we may not, but he’s working,” Davis said.
Colorado trails Northwestern 21-0 at halftime, and kickoff was set for 5:30 p.m. MT on FOX.
If Kinney keeps the center spot steady, Hunter’s absence may not become a major storyline. If the snaps or protection slip, the missing veteran behind him will be impossible to overlook.
In Other News...
Coach Prime Just Revived Colorados Biggest Program Question
Deion Sanders future at Colorado has become a financial question as much as a football one, which is exactly why the topic never really goes away around Boulder. Since taking over, Sanders has gone 18-21, and the university doubled down in March 2025 with a five-year, $54 million extension that was funded through athletic department revenues.
Now the school is staring at a projected $27 million athletic department deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year, and that only sharpens the stakes around any possible coaching change. Colorado would owe as much as $33 million to fire Sanders without cause, depending on timing, a figure that keeps the programs biggest question from being purely about wins and losses. [Read more 🡒]
Julian Lewis Has Colorado Fans Dreaming Bigger Than One Hot Start
Julian Lewis gave Colorado fans plenty to talk about with a record-setting outing against Weber State, completing 17 of 23 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns. It was the kind of performance that can light up a fan base in a hurry, and it also offered a glimpse of how dangerous the Buffaloes can look when the offense is clicking under Brennan Marions system.
Joel Klatt pointed out that Lewis is still early in his development and should keep getting better as he gains experience in the offense. The next stretch will tell a lot more about where things stand, with Northwestern and Baylor on deck to provide a much tougher test than Weber State did. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Defense Faces An Early Test That Could Decide 3-0
Colorados early-season surge has brought it to a spot it has to handle carefully, with Deion Sanders team now staring at a chance to move to 3-0 against Northwestern. For defensive coordinator Chris Marve, this is the kind of matchup that can tell a lot about where the Buffaloes really stand, especially with Northwestern dealing with an injured starting center and an offensive line that is still trying to find its footing.
The bigger issue is the speed of Chip Kellys offense, which can force a defense to communicate cleanly and react without hesitation. Colorado will also have to account for quarterback Aidan Chiles and the decisions he tends to make, which puts even more weight on how Marve sets the front and keeps his unit organized. If the Buffaloes handle this one well, it could say plenty about their ability to keep winning into the heart of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]