Big 12 Football: Consider adding these 6 programs if recent results matter
By John Scimeca
3. Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado, despite its mediocre on-field performance in the Pac-12 since 2011, has revived itself (at least in terms of national attention and excitement) with the hiring of former Jackson State coach and NFL All-Star Deion Sanders as its new head coach. The Buffaloes might bring some pizzazz to the conference after reuniting with several old Big 8/Big 12 league members.
It’s true that Colorado has been a wreck of a football program. The Buffaloes finished 1-11 last season while firing former boss Karl Dorrell, and the program has only recorded two winning records since 2006. In that span, Colorado has lost games to lesser foes such as Hawaii, Air Force, Fresno State, and FCS member Sacramento State.
However, the hype around Coach Prime and this fall’s Buffaloes team is real. The sellout crowd for this spring’s intrasquad game will nearly triple the previous record of 17,800 from 2008 and ESPN will show the contest — relegating the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs to ESPN2 in the process.
The new-look Buffaloes have yet to play a game and will have a lot of attention on them this fall. Sanders continues to bring in an impressive amount of talent via the transfer portal and the top of the high school recruiting rankings. With millions of new social media followers and with the hype, Colorado has now made itself an intriguing potential (returning) member of the Big 12.