Big 12 · Deion Sanders, year 4 (18-21) · Folsom Field · 50,183 · 49,363 avg in 2026
LastW 52–21 vs Weber State · Sat Sep 12 · Julian Lewis 366 pass yds, 4 TD, 1 TD
Nextat Northwestern · Sat Sep 19 · 7:30 pm ET · Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium · Northwestern by 3.5 · series 1-1 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 4 | #163 | #74 | +6.5✓ | @Georgia Tech | W 14–13 130 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #156 | #241 | -38.5✗ | Weber State | W 52–21 154 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #144 | #11 | +3.5 | @Northwestern | |||
| 4 | Sep 26 | #142 | #34 | @Baylor | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | Texas Tech | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Utah | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Oklahoma State | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Kansas State | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | @Arizona State | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | Houston | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | @Cincinnati | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | UCF |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | Weber State | W 52–21 | 578 | 2 | 30:05 | +0.467 | 45.9% | 159.3% | |
| Sep 4 | @Georgia Tech | W 14–13 | 307 | 0 | 34:09 | +0.052 | 37.7% | 112.5% | |
| Season average (2 games) | 442 | 1.0 | +0.260 | 41.8% | 135.9% | ||||
Colorado is the program that turned a head-coaching hire into appointment television — and is now finding out what the lights look like when the wins stop following them.
Every Buffs fan knows the deal: the same cameras that made Boulder the center of the sport are the ones counting down to the day they can call it a circus that fell apart. The fanbase loves the attent…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 3-9 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among Big 12 teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cooling. 3-7 over the last 10, and won the last two.
We took six times the amount of bets on Michigan moneyline compared with Western Michigan
Next Sep 19
vs Northwestern · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questionis the portal class enough to move the needle?
Colorado's top-3 Big 12 portal class arrives with just 7% production returning — Sanders' third straight extreme rebuild, now restocking DL and WR after losing Tyrecus Davis.
our readfront page
Joseph Williams is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Micah Welch sees a real spike in usage once the game is out of reach.
our readbackground
Omarion Miller is a real deep-ball threat -- a high share of his targets come on throws past the sticks.
our readbackground
Omarion Miller: a garbage time merchant signal screened this season.
our readbackground
Zach Atkins is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Colorado collapsed 57 spots in SP+ — the steepest drop in the Big 12, and Deion Sanders' third season opens with bottom-quintile production returning.
our readbackground
Deion Sanders' third consecutive top-15 portal class rebuilds Colorado from a 3-9 losing season, but with just 7% returning production, nearly everything is being overhauled at once.
our readdeveloping
Outcome band · Colorado · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Colorado signed a top-14 transfer-portal class — 42 additions headlined by Isaac Wilson (QB) from Utah and Cree Thomas (CB) from Notre Dame. It is a top-3 portal class in the Big 12 this cycle. Portal pickups don't redshirt. The coverage sees this as a targeted, ready-to-contribute class built for snap competition, not depth-chart filler. The coverage reads this as a credible, targeted haul.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'portal class fills the gaps' believers -- upgrades at real positions of need.
The 'portal is a gamble' counter -- departure losses and the 'plug-and-play doesn't work' read.
This event was in 28 of 1820 board posts (2%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (281 posts): 23% positive · 41% neutral · 36% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Colorado enters 2025 rated No. 96 in SP+ (-8.3), down 57 spots from 2024. It is bottom-quintile returning production — heavy turnover entering the season. SP+ reflects three years of tape; a drop this steep is structural, not noise. The recovery window is open but the room knows it. Preview coverage is split — believers and skeptics are reading the same data differently.
The 'the projection is underselling us' read -- fans betting the season beats the preview number.
The 'the model has seen the tape' counter -- efficiency ratings reward what a program has actually done, not hope.
This event was in 63 of 1820 board posts (3%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (281 posts): 23% positive · 41% neutral · 36% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Colorado is the program with a 1990 national title and the most-watched college football story of the 2020s thanks to Coach Prime.
Lamont Lester Jr.: 5 tackles · 3.5 TFL · 3 sacks at Georgia Tech
Top 1% tackles for loss game since 2021. at Georgia Tech (FBS) W 14-13.
Colorado DT Christensen denied eligibility
Sanders is already addressing court cases in camp — now the NCAA adds a DT eligibility denial to a D-line room that can't afford attrition with a #67 class and pressure already thin at CB.
CU transfer dismissed from SEC program
Boo Carter lands in Boulder after getting cut loose from the SEC — with CB depth already thin and the class sitting 67th nationally, Sanders needed attitude answers as much as talent ones, and he's gone on record praising Carter's buy-in.
Eligibility ruling expected soon
CB depth was already thin at #67 nationally — an eligibility ruling here could flip a genuine pressure point before fall camp locks in the two-deep.
Colorado releases two-deep offensive depth chart
Two-deep is public now — with CB depth ranked 67th nationally and pressure at corner baked in, who's actually behind the starters matters more than the top line.
Colorado announces offensive line depth chart
The O-line depth chart is out and that's the real story — Rothstein's not buying the Big 12 surge yet, but if Sanders can protect the quarterback in a conference this deep, the rankings catch up.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
FL leads the 2026 class with 4 commits. National footprint reaching 10 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
69 signees across 17 states, 2023-2026. FL leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Colorado player grew up 984 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Folsom Field. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 102 of 106 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now
53rd percentile among FBS programs
The bounces haven't gone their way on the fumbles they've forced: 40% recovered, vs. ~46% expected.
2 of 5 forced fumbles recovered, 2026 only.
Deflections without payoff: 8% of disrupted passes intercepted, vs. ~18% league-wide.
1 interceptions of 12 disrupted passes (11 deflected, 1 intercepted), 2026 only.
The flags haven't favored them: 19 penalties committed vs. 15 drawn on opponents, 63 yards behind.
167 penalty yards committed vs. 104 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Colorado · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026