Colorado's hype peaked one year too early. The Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders stole headlines, and the nation's attention, last year amid a 4-8 season that saw them start strong before falling apart down the stretch.
Colorado is attracting attention for a different reason this year. The No. 17 Buffaloes are now 8-2 after a 49-24 win Saturday against preseason Big 12 favorite Utah. Sanders' squad is a heavy favorite to make the Big 12 Championship Game, which would put it one win away from the College Football Playoff.
And yet, maybe because people over-exposed themselves to Colorado in 2023, it doesn't seem like there's enough attention on Boulder now, even though Sanders is engineering one of college football's greatest turnaround seasons. He's taken plenty of flak with his boisterous personality and his approach to building the roster, but his process is paying off.
Beyond Colorado's impressive record and standing in the Big 12, the Buffaloes have improved across the board. Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter is stealing headlines with his all-star play on both ends of the field, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders has plenty of flashy weapons to spread the ball to, but Colorado has taken huge strides in the trenches.
The Buffaloes have allowed 29 sacks thus far, which still isn't great but is a major improvement from 2023's staggering total of 56. That alone has won them a couple of extra games. But you pair an improved offense with a revamped pass rush, which currently ranks sixth in the nation with 29 total sacks -- Colorado had four against Utah -- and that's a winning recipe.
Sanders did everything he had to to build a contender, and he did it in short order in spite of what outside noise suggested. So, yes, the Buffaloes -- who are closing in on 10 wins for the first time since 2016 and are as hot as any team around the country -- deserve more attention (weird to say for a Sanders-coached team) and are vastly underrated on a national scale.
Texas QB Ewers is holding Longhorns back
No. 3 Texas held on for a 20-10 win against Arkansas, keeping its SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff hopes alive, but it's hard to feel great about such a result. On one hand, winning on the road in the SEC is hard, and this is the same Arkansas team that beat Tennessee earlier in the season.
Week 12's proceedings highlighted a huge concern for Texas, though: fifth-year senior quarterback Quinn Ewers is a problem. After a breakout 2023 campaign, he entered this year as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick and an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
Things have swung an entirely different direction lately. Ewers did get off to a hot start in 2024, with a hallmark performance against Michigan, before an abdominal injury suffered against UTSA caused him to spend almost a month on the sideline.
That missed time certainly threw off his rhythm, but a lot of the problems that have plagued him lately have hung around throughout his career. Ewers is inconsistent on deep shots. He had a particularly bad miss early in the game when wide receiver Matthew Golden was running wide open behind Arkansas' defense.
That isn't good for a Texas offense that has plenty of talent to stretch the field. Ewers' pocket presence is not where it needs to be for a player that has spent five years at the collegiate level. He runs himself into sacks far too often and gets happy feet if his early reads aren't there. Maybe he's on a faster mental timeline since Texas' offensive line has underperformed, but a veteran should not be quick to panic.
Texas won't make a quarterback switch. It probably shouldn't; Ewers has got the Longhorns this far and, though Arch Manning has looked good with his opportunities this year, it's hard to ask him to land the plane on the season and then lead a playoff run given his overall lack of playing time. But Ewers drastically lowers Texas' ceiling if he can't put it all together.
Penn State TE Warren should be a Heisman Trophy finalist
Hunter, Miami's Cam Ward and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty have dominated the Heisman Trophy thus far. Deservedly so; all three are very special players that have single-handedly won games for their respective teams this year. While he won't win this sport's most illustrious individual award, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren deserves a spot in New York by year's end.
Warren may not play on both sides of the ball like Hunter, but he's as versatile. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has moved Warren all over the field. Warren has excelled in every single spot, be it as an in-line tight end or a wildcat quarterback.
In No. 4 Penn State's 49-10 win against Purdue, Warren stuffed the stat sheet with eight catches for 127 yards and one touchdown and three rushes for 63 yards and another touchdown. His 48-yard rushing touchdown came off of a direct snap. He's the first FBS tight end since 2000 with 50-plus yards rushing with one or more touchdowns rushing and 100-plus yards receiving with one or more touchdowns through the air.
He's also the first tight end since 2016 with at least five touchdowns receiving and four touchdowns rushing in a single season, and Penn State still has two games left. Warren's a unicorn. It's clear that Penn State runs its offense through him and he more than makes up for the team's lack of playmakers elsewhere.
He's the most important player on the field for a College Football Playoff team and he does stuff that we don't see other athletes do on a weekly basis. Sounds like the perfect candidate for a Heisman finalist spot.
Florida QB Lagway is a future No. 1 overall pick
I've taken my shots at Florida for sticking with Billy Napier, but I get it; I would also do whatever I could to ensure that DJ Lagway sticks around. As a freshman quarterback, he is already one of the best deep ball throwers in college football.
If you're not convinced, or if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Lagway spin it this year:
Keep in mind, this is just two weeks after Lagway suffered what Napier called a "pretty significant" hamstring injury. If less-than 100% Lagway is making those throws, then fully-healthy Lagway is unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks in America.
He certainly looks like a future NFL quarterback, despite his relatively limited playing time thus far. He's already displayed the tools and traits that a QB-hungry franchise will look for with the No. 1 overall pick, and I'll go out on a limb and say that Lagway will go off the board first in 2027.
He's only going to get better with more reps under his belt, and he's already really good. He's got the ideal frame, a huge arm and plus athleticism that allows him to navigate the pocket and keep defenses honest with his legs. Lagway's the total package with a five-star pedigree. It wouldn't surprise me if NFL general managers already have his name circled, highlighted and underlined on scouting reports.
Tulane belongs in the CFP conversation
Last week, I wrote that at least two Group of Five teams should make the 12-team College Football Playoff, especially if we're comparing résumés against a three-loss power conference team in this hypothetical scenario. But when discussing those Group of Five teams that deserved to make the field, I failed to mention Tulane.
My bad, Green Wave. You absolutely belong right up there. No. 25 Tulane stormed to an impressive win in Week 12, downing former top-25 Navy 35-0 on Navy's home turf. This was the first time that Navy, which entered Saturday's slate second in scoring in the AAC -- behind Tulane -- with 35.7 points per game, failed to score in a game this season.
Yes, Tulane has lost two games this year, and that's normally a postseason death sentence for a non-Power Four team. Those two losses were on the road against Oklahoma (it was a one-score game midway through the fourth quarter) and by seven points at home against top-20 Kansas State.
So, two Power Four opponents. No different than most two-loss Power Four teams still in the College Football Playoff race.
Tulane has to finish the year strong by beating preseason AAC favorite Memphis and downing No. 24 Army in the AAC Championship Game. Do that and the Green Wave deserve a spot in an expanded field.