Coming off of a 9-4 season, Deion Sanders faces his most difficult task yet as Colorado's Head Coach. This offseason, Sanders lost the Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter along with his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders to the NFL. Now Sanders is tasked with replacing his Quarterback and his most important player in his first season without his sons on the team.
Heading into a pivotal season for Deion Sanders and his program, here is some of the key points of Colorado's season.
Schedule Highlights:
Season Opener: The Buffaloes kick off the season on Friday, August 29, hosting Georgia Tech at Folsom Field. This matchup is a great test for Colorado to see where they are after key players leaving via the draft or portal. Both teams are heading in different directions to the public’s eye so Georgia Tech is definitely a tough first game when the continuity isn’t the same as in years past.
Home Games: Colorado will host seven games at Folsom Field, marking the first time in 43 years they've had seven home games in a season. Another home game will help their crowd get into the action possibly giving them some home field advantage boosting their play.
Key Matchups:
BYU: On September 27, Colorado faces BYU in a rematch of the 2024 Alamo Bowl. BYU still has big hopes for their team even with the ongoing lawsuit against starting QB Jake Retzlaff.
Iowa State: October 11 brings a home game against Iowa State. Iowa State was in the BIG 12 championship game last year and despite losing their two star receivers, they still bring back third year starter at QB to give them lofty expectations.
Arizona State: November 22 sees Arizona State visiting Boulder. The other team in the championship game last year who actually won the matchup with ISU and secured their spot in the CFP. Lost the big time playmaker in Cam Skattebo but still have Sam Leavitt and Jordan Tyson forming one of the best duos in the country.
Kansas State: The regular season concludes on November 29 with a road game at Kansas State. Another tough conference game with KSU being super consistent over the years and high expectations to come out on top of the BIG 12 this year in the eyes of the public. Key returning players and Coach Kleiman will have this team battling week in week out amongst the best.
Coaching and Roster Updates:
Head Coach: Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders enters his third season with the Buffaloes. Under his leadership, Colorado achieved a 9–4 record and a top-25 finish in 2024. Currently Coach Sanders is going through some medical issues so praying for a speedy recovery to him but this is another huge question mark for this team as the season approaches.
Roster Additions:
Julian Lewis: A five-star quarterback and the No. 2 recruit in the 2025 class, Lewis flipped from USC to Colorado, bringing high expectations for the upcoming season. He might not even be the starter from Day 1 but this could work in his advantage and for the team to develop him properly.
Kaidon Salter: Transfer QB from Liberty who has a lot of experience and the stats to back it up as well. Over his career at Liberty, he threw for over 5,800 yards and 56 TDs to go with another 21 TDs on the ground. He’s the clear favorite to win the job out of camp, but this duo might form the best QB room as a whole in the country based on talent, depth, and potential.
Quentin Gibson: The MaxPreps National Player of the Year wide receiver is expected to make an immediate impact, having a good offseason with the program. The Buffs have also lost two starting receivers in Hunter and Jimmy Horn, which gives Gibson ample amount of opportunity.
Key Returnees:
Drelon Miller: The wide receiver is poised for a breakout season after a solid freshman year. The stats don’t pop out but he appeared in all 13 games last year and there’s plenty of opportunity for him to show how good he can this year.
DJ McKinney: The forgotten about star defensive back on this roster. He was obviously in the shadow of the Heisman winner, but he was quietly a top player in the nation last year. He had the most defensive snaps on the team with 840 and finished the season with 62 total tackles (third on the team), 44 unassisted tackles, nine pass breakups, four third down stops, three interceptions, three tackles for loss, two tackles for zero, one forced fumble recovery, forced fumble.
Departures:
Travis Hunter: The standout two-way player and Heisman Trophy winner in 2024 has declared for the NFL Draft. His No. 12 jersey will be retired in his honor. Number two overall pick by the Jaguars and arguably the best two-way player in college football history. He will be missed terribly, and finding all around potential from the receiving room and defensive back unit will go a long way into whether this team can match or exceed the year they had last year.
Shedeur Sanders: The quarterback and son of Coach Prime has also declared for the NFL Draft. His No. 2 jersey will be retired alongside Hunter's. The production he had will be hard to match so getting more from everyone as a team will be crucial for this teams success.
ESPN FPI Ranking
The FPI Ranking for the Buffaloes is at 49 as of now, with more time to grow or fall once camp starts up. Notable teams above them are UCLA, Utah, UNLV, and Boise State. Based on who they have lost, who has come aboard, and even now with the coaching question marks, it is a fair ranking until the team shows what they can do when the season starts up. Can’t just rank them too high based on last year and the image from the Sanders name. There is still a lot of potential on this roster, but to see how they all jell together will be big in determining the actual potential for how well this team can play as a unit. That and also how surprisingly good/deep the BIG 12 conference is from top to bottom. This conference goes under looked, but the gap between all the teams is very marginal, which makes each game that much more important.
The 2025 season presents a mix of challenges and opportunities for the Colorado Buffaloes. With a blend of seasoned players and promising newcomers, the team is poised to make a significant impact in the Big 12 Conference.