Deion Sanders didn’t need much convincing about what Colorado fans can do on the road. He saw it in Atlanta, where Georgia Tech staged a White Out and drew 52,113 to Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field on a Thursday night, and he heard the Buffaloes faithful all the same.
Colorado sold roughly 1,000 tickets from its requested allotment for that trip, but Sanders still took notice when the visiting section made itself felt. When Charlie Williams caught the go-ahead touchdown with 37 seconds left, the stadium fell silent before the Colorado side exploded inside a building mostly dressed in white.
“Hats off to Buff Nation. I really think we have the best fans in the country,” Sanders said Tuesday.
That praise came with a clear ask. Weber State comes to Boulder on Saturday for Colorado’s home opener, set for 1:30 p.m. MT on ESPN+, and Sanders wants Folsom Field full.
“We want to sell this thing out. We want our fans to come out in droves, as they did in Atlanta,” Sanders said.
He also pointed back to last season, when Colorado finished 3-9 and still drew strong support. Sanders has already lived through the dip in results and the loyalty that stayed attached to the program anyway.
Colorado sold out every home game in 2023, the first full-season sellout in program history, and that demand carried into a nine-win 2024. Then the bottom dropped out to 3-9.
Even so, the Buffaloes still drew more than 40,000 fans for Arizona in their final home game last season, which was the smallest crowd of the Sanders era. Three weeks earlier, nearly 50,000 showed up for the loss to Arizona, which had been the previous low.
The numbers have also softened in other places. Colorado had sold 20,248 season tickets for 2026 as of early July, down from 23,987 in 2025. The school said 78.3 percent of the previous year’s season-ticket holders renewed, and it also had increased its season-ticket inventory by nearly 3,000 in 2025, so the year-over-year totals are not a straight comparison.
The spring game crowd followed the same trend. Colorado drew 20,430 for the 2025 spring game, the smallest of Sanders’ first three spring games, after 47,277 packed Folsom in 2023.
Sanders has already been blunt about what last year meant. After a 24-14 loss to Kansas State ended Colorado’s -9 season in November, he said the people around the program deserved better.
“This fan base, the school, everybody, everybody deserves much better than this,” Sanders said then. “I expected much better than this. Nine months later, he is asking those fans to fill Folsom Field for the first home game of a new season.
Weber State is Colorado’s only non-FBS opponent this season, and Sanders also used Tuesday morning to keep the Buffaloes grounded after their 1-0 start. According to video posted by ReachThePeople, he told the room, “Y’all think y’all doing something?” before reminding his players they were one of 85 Division I teams sitting at 1-0.
That didn’t change the message he delivered to the fan base.
“So, if we have tickets left, please sell this thing out so these kids can understand what I’ve been talking about forever and how wonderful this fan base is,” Sanders said.
In Other News...
Colorado Suddenly Faces A Very Different Test In Home Opener
Weber States trip to Boulder is already taking shape differently than expected, with starting quarterback Devin Brown likely out after dislocating his right pinkie finger in the season opener. That pushes freshman Nate Dahle into the spotlight for a second straight week, giving Colorado a look at a Wildcat offense led by a much less experienced hand than the one it prepared for.
Eric Kjar has already updated the situation and sounded confident in Dahles ability to manage the game, but it still changes the tone of the matchup for Colorados home opener. Rather than facing a veteran starter, the Buffaloes now have to account for a freshman quarterback making his way through another major test, which adds a little extra unpredictability to a game that already carried plenty of curiosity. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Rumors Create A Colorado Problem Fans Know Too Well
Florida States loss to SMU on Monday night was enough to reopen a familiar conversation around Deion Sanders, and it immediately put Colorado back in a place it has learned to recognize. The buzz around Sanders and the Seminoles has returned even without any credible reports of outreach, which is exactly the sort of background noise that tends to follow a high-profile coach who has already changed the trajectory of one program.
For Colorado, the concern is less about where Sanders is and more about what the rumor cycle does around him. Sanders is under contract through 2029 and has said publicly that he is happy in Boulder, but any fresh speculation can still ripple into recruiting and keep the Buffs tied to a national guessing game they did not start. It also leaves Florida State coach Mike Norvell absorbing scrutiny for a season that has already prompted plenty of questions, which is why this particular storyline is likely to linger even without a real update behind it. [Read more 🡒]
Buffs Fans Are Getting A Boulder Basketball Night That Will Feel Different
Boulder is about to get a rare basketball showcase when the University of Colorado hosts an NBA preseason game at the CU Events Center on Oct. 4. The Nuggets and Utah Jazz will meet there, giving Buffs fans a chance to see pro basketball in a building that is usually reserved for college hoops and turning an early fall date into something that should feel a little bigger than the usual exhibition stop.
The night will also bring a familiar face back to campus in KJ Simpson, the former Colorado guard who is now with Denver on a two-way contract. For Buffaloes fans, that adds a local layer to a game that already stands out, especially with the matchup opening the Nuggets five-game preseason schedule and giving Boulder a first look at what should be a memorable crossover event. [Read more 🡒]