Deion Sanders has already done the hard part at Colorado: he made the Buffaloes matter again and helped land them in the Big 12 as the Pac-12 fell apart. But the shine has worn off the on-field product, and Sanders heads into 2026 with some heat after a rough follow-up to the buzz.
That’s not slowing bettors down. If anything, Colorado is drawing the kind of optimism that has become a Sanders trademark in the market, even after last season’s collapse.
The Buffaloes finished 3-9 last year and dropped their final five games after losing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. It was a brutal fall from 2024, when Colorado went 9-4 with both stars driving the offense. The year-over-year drop of six wins is the biggest at Colorado since a seven-win swing from 1961-62.
The numbers behind the slump were ugly. Colorado went 1-8 in Big 12 play, finished No. 112 nationally in total offense and 121st in total defense. Its scoring fell from 30.9 points per game in 2024 to 20.9 last season, while the defense allowed 30.5 points per game after giving up 23.1 the year before.
Those struggles showed up everywhere. The Buffaloes’ 20.9 points per game was second-worst in the Big 12, and their 328.4 yards per game on offense and 25.35% three-and-out rate were also among the league’s worst.
Colorado was one of five teams in the country without a player who reached 400 rushing yards. Defensively, the Buffs allowed 222.5 rushing yards per game, third-most in FBS, and produced an opponent sack percentage of just 3.9, eighth-lowest in the country.
Even so, the market keeps leaning Colorado’s way. At BetMGM, the Buffaloes’ Over 4.5 wins is drawing more tickets than any other team’s Over.
Nationally, only Oklahoma is getting a bigger Over lean by handle. Colorado is also the most exposed power-conference team on the Big 12 title board at +8000, with 20.5% of the handle and 11.5% of the tickets.
ESPN’s SP+ has Colorado at 4.6 wins.
The roster turnover is massive. Only five starters are back, and Sanders is working with a No. 55 composite incoming class from 247 Sports, including the No. 23 transfer class and No. 67 recruiting group.
There are 66 new players, plus new offensive and defensive coordinators. No Buffaloes made a preseason All-Big 12 team.
The quarterback job is still unsettled. Redshirt freshman Julian Lewis and transfer redshirt sophomore Isaac Wilson are battling for the starting spot.
Lewis appeared in four games last year and threw for 589 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson played in 10 career games at Utah, starting seven, and finished with 1,510 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Both are listed at +40000 for the Heisman. Wilson is the older brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Whoever wins the job will have a serious target to throw to. Danny Scudero, the nation’s leading receiver from 2025, transferred in after catching 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns at San Jose State.
Brennan Marion is the new offensive coordinator, arriving from Sacramento State after coordinating high-powered rushing attacks there and during his previous stint at UNLV.
The schedule is no gift, either. Phil Steele ranks Colorado’s slate as the 45th-toughest, roughly in line with ESPN SP+.
The Buffs avoided Texas Tech and Arizona State last season, but both are on the schedule now, along with Utah, Kansas State and Houston. All of those games are in Boulder, and BYU is not on the schedule.
The nonconference slate includes road games at Georgia Tech and Northwestern, plus a home game against Weber State. Georgia Tech is listed at -7.
So is the Over on 4.5 wins justified? The market says yes.
The case against it is simpler: Colorado has too many new faces, too many questions at quarterback and too much evidence from last season. Four wins feels more realistic, and exactly four is priced at +425 at DraftKings.
Colorado is also available at +0.5 wins (-120) against Bill Belichick and North Carolina -0.5 (-110).
In Other News...
Colorado Fall Camp Opens With A Coaching Change Fans Cant Ignore
Colorados fall camp opened with a staffing wrinkle that did not go unnoticed, as the Buffaloes official coaching directory no longer lists receivers coach Jason Phillips and he was not part of the teams fall camp introductions. For a program trying to settle into its next phase, any change on the staff page tends to draw a little extra scrutiny, especially when it involves a position group as central to the offense as the receivers.
Rashad Davis, who had previously worked as an inside receivers coach, appeared to be handling Phillipss role as camp got underway. The Buffaloes have not officially confirmed what happened or offered an explanation, leaving the move to speak for itself while fans and observers try to read between the lines about how the offensive staff is being shaped. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Enters Fall Camp With Colorado Facing Early Pressure
Fall camp opened with the Buffaloes shifting preseason work to Colorado Springs, where 104 players reported as Deion Sanders and his staff started putting the roster through its first real tests of the season. Sanders has made the coaching staff and roster philosophy a central part of how this program is being built, and the start of camp is always the first checkpoint for whether that approach is translating from talk to practice.
Colorado also enters camp with an unexpected personnel note, as the program announced Jason Phillips is no longer with the team so he can attend to a family matter. It adds another layer to a week that is already about evaluation and urgency, because every early absence changes how the depth chart is shaped and how much flexibility the staff has as it sorts out the pieces before the real pressure starts. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados New OC Just Raised The Stakes For This Offense
Colorados offseason reset brought a clear message on offense, with the program turning to Brennan Marion to run the attack after its 2025 season. Marion arrives from Sacramento State, where he served as head coach, and he is expected to install his up-tempo go-go system while Chris Marve takes over as defensive coordinator. For a Buffaloes team trying to sharpen its identity, the staff changes point to a more aggressive look on both sides of the ball.
The timing makes the quarterback situation especially worth watching, because redshirt freshman Julian Lewis is projected to open the year as the starter against Georgia Tech. That is a lot to ask of a young passer in a new system, but it also gives Colorado a chance to find out quickly how fast Marions offense can take hold. The real intrigue is whether the scheme and the QB can mesh quickly enough to make the Buffaloes dangerous right away. [Read more 🡒]