Can Coach Prime turn Colorado Football around in 2023?

How many games will Colorado football win this fall?

Sept 2 at TCU L: The Horned Frogs played for the National Title in 2022. They lost a lot of pieces from that team. However, Chandler Morris was the starter until he got hurt last year. Colorado covers but falls short.

Sept 9 Nebraska L: The Huskers and Buffaloes are cashing their chips in with new starting quarterbacks. Jeff Sims has played Power Five football, but Shedeur Sanders has not. Huskers win.

Sept 16 Colorado State W: Colorado should win, but this is not an easy game by any means. The Rams were awful offensively, but if the ball bounces differently, they are 5-7, not 3-9. That said, Coach Norvell still needs more players on offense, and Colorado’s defense should be able to hold.

Sept 23 at Oregon L: The Ducks are a contender in the Pac-12. Oregon gives Sanders his “Welcome to the Pac-12” game. The Ducks win big.

Sept 30 USC L: Dorian Singer and Marshawn Lloyd will be instant impact players for the Trojans’ offense. Also, it’s a reason his nickname is “Bear.” If Keithian Deshun “Bear” Alexander is as advertised, he will be a terror. The Trojans win big.

Oct 7 at Arizona State W: Kenny Dillingham is potentially the long-term answer for the Sun Devils, but the roster was nearly as bad as Colorado’s in 2022. In addition, there was a mass exodus from that program. Colorado has enough to beat the Devils.

Oct 13 Stanford W: This is a 50/50 game because Troy Taylor’s offensive scheme should help them score points. However, Stanford’s roster isn’t very good. Those transfers should have had time to come together by this point in the season. Colorado wins a close game.

Oct 28 at UCLA L: It seems as if Chip Kelly has it rolling at UCLA. The Bruins won nine games for the first time since 2014. It looks like he’s found a potential star in freshman quarterback Dante Moore who might start day one. Bruins win big in the Rose Bowl.

Nov 4 Oregon State L: The Beavers are my dark horse to win the Pac-12. This team has a veteran offensive line, and transfer quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has been outstanding from spring through summer camp. The Beavs run all over the Buffs in this game.

Nov 11 Arizona W: The Wildcats will be better this fall, but their defense let them down several times in 2022. Sheduer has his best game in a Colorado uniform, leading the Buffs to the win.

Nov 17 at Washington State L: It will be interesting to see how much Cameron Ward and the Wildcats’ offense improves. There is a possibility that Colorado is playing for the postseason in this game.

Nov 25 at Utah L: Utah might need this game to win the Pac-12. It’s at Rice-Eccles, and the Utes might have a CFP argument. Coach Prime concludes an improved season with a loss.

Prediction 4-8, 3-6 Pac-12

The win total prediction for Colorado is 3.5. If you like to wager, take the over. Colorado is going to be exponentially better than they were last year. The offense and defense will be more competitive than in 2022. However, there are concerns about depth, and no one knows how good these transfers are.

The schedule also does them no favors. Colorado opens on the road against TCU, then opens its home schedule against Nebraska. If injury issues arise in either of those two games, they could lose to an improved Colorado State team.