Deion Sanders embraces the challenge of turning things around as he begins a new season at Colorado
Sanders and Colorado are coming off their worst season in his three years as head coach
The road back to relevance for the Colorado Buffaloes was never going to be a smooth ride. After suffering through six consecutive losing seasons between 2017 and 2022, capped off by a truly dismal 1-11 campaign, the program turned to Deion Sanders to perform an emergency transplant on the team's culture.
Fast forward three seasons, and the "Coach Prime" era sits at a polarizing 16-21 overall record . Now, this Thursday, September 3rd, a brand-new college football season begins , and Sanders is eagerly searching for a much-needed rebound after his squad stumbled to a disappointing 3-9 record , featuring a rough 1-8 mark in Big 12 conference play during the 2025 season.
Coach Prime Embraces Georgia Tech Opener and Fresh Tactical Staff
If there is a silver lining to be found in the wreckage, it's that Colorado may have finally identified their long-term answer at quarterback in young standout Julian "JuJu" Lewis .
Speaking recently on Coach Prime's Playbook with Romi Bean, Sanders made it clear that he actively welcomes the high-stakes challenge of squaring off against Georgia Tech in Week 1 rather than easing into the schedule.
"Honestly, every coach wants to start off with a W... But if you scared and you afraid of a competition, then that's a problem," Sanders explained, noting that his team shares that fearless mentality.
To spark a dramatic turnaround, Sanders overhauled his coaching staff this offseason by bringing in Chris Marve to coordinate the defense and hiring Brennan Marion away from Sacramento State to install his high-tempo, innovative "Go-Go" offense.
Designed to function like "basketball on grass," this fast-paced scheme will be anchored by Lewis and aims to completely revitalize a stagnant Buffaloes rushing attack.
Navigating the Schedule in Search of a Bowl Bid
Looking ahead at the 2026 slate, Colorado faces a daunting gauntlet featuring matchups against three ranked opponents, all hosted at home inside Folsom Field .
The Buffaloes will collide with No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 21 Utah in consecutive weeks, sandwiched around a much-needed mid-season bye week, before closing out a tough stretch against Houston in November.
While breaking through into the College Football Playoff picture remains a distant, long-shot objective for the program, securing a standard postseason bowl game would inject immense positive energy back into a locker room desperate for momentum, even if oddsmakers project that climb to be an uphill battle.
