Colorado spent the first three seasons of the Deion Sanders era being almost impossible to pin down.
The Buffs were a roster overhaul project, then a college football sensation, then a social media magnet, then a TV draw, then a branding engine for Sanders himself. They were also a showcase for Travis Hunter, a window into Sanders’ father-son world, and a rolling sideshow that pulled in names like Lil Wayne, The Rock and Terrell Owens.
Then came 2025, and all the noise finally met the record. Colorado finished 3-9, and the reality was plain: the Buffs were just a bad football team.
Sanders said he didn’t have “it,” and neither did his players without Shedeur Sanders, Hunter and the collection of offensive playmakers that helped fuel the first two years of the run. Now the job is simpler and harder at the same time - get back to bowl contention and claw out of the Big 12 basement.
A big part of that push starts with the offense, where Colorado is betting on Brennan Marion and his Go-Go system to change the feel of the team.
Marion laid out his approach in his 2019 book, and he didn’t leave much room for interpretation:
"We are a running team," he wrote. "We want everyone in the country to know that we are going to run the ball right at you.
We're not going to hit you all the way down the field. We're not going to screen you all the way down the field.
We're going to run the ball right at you, right over you. I believe the No. 1 thing defenses have to do in order to be a great defense is stop the dive. If they are not going to stop the dive, then we'll just continue to run it right at them."
That kind of identity has been missing in Boulder. Colorado has been one of the worst rushing teams in the country since Sanders arrived, ranking last and second-to-last nationally in yards per rush over his first two seasons and then finishing 123rd in 2025. Marion’s system, with its unusual formations and stress points for defenses, is expected to bring more physicality to a group that has too often been on the wrong end of uncomplimentary football.
There’s a catch, though: Colorado has to do it without left tackle Jordan Seaton, who left for LSU in the portal. Sanders still insists the line has depth, saying it is eight or nine deep with starting-caliber players.
The Buffs will also hand the offense to a new quarterback in Julian Lewis. Last season, the position was a carousel, with three quarterbacks seeing action, including Lewis, Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub.
Lewis won’t turn 19 until the end of September after reclassifying into Colorado’s 2025 signing class, and Sanders has gone out of his way to keep the pressure manageable. At Big 12 media days, he said:
"What I don't expect, and this may sound crazy, but it's real, because he's a young kid, I don't need my quarterback to lead us," Sanders said. "I need my quarterback to do what we ask him to do.
He's 18, and we're asking an 18-year-old kid to lead a locker room full of men; that's not fair to him. But what I'm asking him to do: make the plays that should be made and do what's necessary to be done, but you do not have to stand up in front of the team and hoo rah this, and hoo rah that, you do not have to run out of the tunnel first.
You do not have to get on nobody's butt, just do your job, man. That's it."
One of the most important additions around Lewis is receiver Danny Scudero, who arrives from San Jose State after being one of the country’s most productive wideouts. Sanders has praised him as a quiet leader.
Scudero was seen on crutches and in a walking boot in early August, though the school did not disclose the injury specifics. He returned to practice in late August wearing a non-contact jersey, and Sanders said he is expected to play in the opener against Georgia Tech.
"He's most definitely going to play against Georgia Tech for sure," Sanders said. "If I know Danny, he's definitely going to do that."
Sanders’ own future keeps hanging over the program, too. He beat bladder cancer last year, and before that he had multiple toes amputated while at Jackson State.
Those health issues, along with Colorado’s on-field struggles, have kept his status in constant conversation among industry sources. Plenty of people around the game were convinced 2025 would be his last season, but Sanders has spent his life making a habit of surprising people.
Still, if Colorado struggles again, the speculation isn’t going anywhere. It could even put new athletic director Fernando Lovo in position to make a major decision at the end of the year if Sanders misses a bowl for the third time in four seasons.
For all the attention, that’s where this now stands. The shine has faded, and that’s what happens when the wins don’t match the spotlight.
Colorado has been a lot of things under Deion Sanders. Now it has to be good at football.
In Other News...
Brent Key Knows This Georgia Tech Opener Wont Feel Like Home
The season opener in Atlanta already had a little extra charge to it, and Deion Sanders return only adds to the feel around it. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key has been talking about the matchup as more than a standard September kickoff, with Sanders back in the city where he remains a towering sports figure and Colorado stepping into a setting that figures to draw plenty of attention before the first snap.
For the Buffaloes, the backdrop matters because so many of the faces on the roster have roots close to the game site. Colorado has 17 listed players from Georgia, including former five-star quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis, which helps explain why this one figures to look and sound a little different from a normal road trip. Even with the home crowd on hand for Georgia Tech, the atmosphere is expected to have a familiar edge for Colorado, and that is part of what makes this opener worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados Post-Shedeur Quarterback Reset Just Got A Lot More Real
Colorados quarterback picture for 2026 is coming into focus, and its centered on Julian Lewis. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion said the redshirt freshman will start next season, putting the former five-star recruit in line to guide the Buffs after appearing in four games in 2025. For a program moving into life after Shedeur Sanders, that kind of clarity matters, especially with the offense set to lean on a young passer whose rise has been closely watched since he arrived.
Behind Lewis, the depth chart has another familiar name in Isaac Wilson, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson. Now entering his third college season after transferring from Utah, Wilson gives Colorado an experienced backup option if needed. The bigger question is how quickly Lewis settles into the role and how much of the offense Marion can build around him once the season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados 2026 Offense Hinges On One Huge Question
Colorados offense for 2026 already has a clear center of gravity, and it starts with quarterback Julian Lewis. After a freshman season that pointed to bigger things ahead, Lewis is being viewed as the offensive MVP candidate under Deion Sanders and new coordinator Brennan Marion, the kind of player whose growth could shape everything the Buffaloes want to do next fall. If he settles into the starting role the way the staff expects, Colorado will have a foundation it can build around rather than a unit still searching for its identity.
Joseph Williams is another name worth watching as the pieces come together, giving the Buffaloes a potential second pillar on the perimeter. Even so, the bigger question hanging over the offense is less about talent than timing and fit, because the promise of a young quarterback and a new system only goes so far until the pieces around them lock in. For Colorado, the 2026 offense may end up being defined by how quickly those expectations turn into something more concrete. [Read more 🡒]