Colorado under Deion Sanders has been just about all things to all people. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly has been a lot over three seasons.
A partial list includes:
- An original blueprint for flipping a roster through the transfer portal
- A one-of-a-kind college football phenomenon for three weeks out of the gates in 2024
- A lightning rod for social media fodder and an early TV ratings darling, catnip for the modern attention economy
- A marketing vehicle for Sanders himself for everything from sunglasses to peanuts to adult diapers
- An incubator for one of the most unique athletic talents we've ever seen (Travis Hunter)
- A public display of a unique father-son dynamic
- A celebrity-on-the-sideline, people-watching social experiment featuring everyone from Lil Wayne to The Rock to Terrell Owens
But after a 3-9 2025, Colorado was mostly just a bad football team. Sanders admitted he didn't have "it," and neither did his players without Shedeur Sanders, Hunter or the bevy of offensive weapons Colorado enjoyed during the first two years of Deion's run. Now the Buffs are trying to turn the page, get back in contention for a bowl and climb out of the bottom of the Big 12.
It's time to Go(-Go)
In his 2019 book explaining his offensive system, new Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion detailed his philosophy.
"We are a running team," he wrote. "We want everyone in the country to know that we are going to run the ball right at you. We're not going to hit you all the way down the field. We're not going to screen you all the way down the field.
We're going to run the ball right at you, right over you. I believe the No. 1 thing defenses have to do in order to be a great defense is stop the dive. If they are not going to stop the dive, then we'll just continue to run it right at them."
The oft-traveled offensive coach is likely to give Colorado one thing it has sorely lacked: physicality in the run game. Few, if any, teams have been worse at running the ball since Sanders took over. The Buffs ranked last and second-to-last nationally in yards per rush during his first two seasons and weren't much better in 2025, finishing 123rd.
Marion's offense uses unusual formations to make life difficult on defenses, and that may go a long way toward making Colorado harder to stop while helping a defense that too often found itself on the wrong side of uncomplimentary football.
They'll attempt to do it without left tackle Jordan Seaton, who left for LSU in the portal, but Sanders claims his line is eight or nine deep with starting-caliber players.
And they'll block for a new signal-caller.
High hopes for QB1
In steps Julian Lewis under center. Last year, the position was a revolving door, with three quarterbacks seeing time, including Lewis, Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub.
It's often noted that Lewis won't turn 19 until the end of September after reclassifying to join the Buffs' 2025 signing class. Sanders has been clear about taking the pressure off his young starter.
"What I don't expect, and this may sound crazy, but it's real, because he's a young kid, I don't need my quarterback to lead us," Sanders said at Big 12 media days. "I need my quarterback to do what we ask him to do. He's 18, and we're asking an 18-year-old kid to lead a locker room full of men; that's not fair to him. But what I'm asking him to do: make the plays that should be made and do what's necessary to be done, but you do not have to stand up in front of the team and hoo rah this, and hoo rah that, you do not have to run out of the tunnel first. You do not have to get on nobody's butt, just do your job, man. That's it."
One of the most important offseason additions was wide receiver Danny Scudero, who arrives from San Jose State as one of the most productive wideouts in the country. Sanders has raved about his transfer pass catcher, who functions as a quiet leader. He was spotted on crutches and in a walking boot in early August, but the school declined to release specifics about his injury. He returned to practice in late August in a non-contact jersey but is expected to suit up for the season opener.
"He's most definitely going to play against Georgia Tech for sure," Sanders said. "If I know Danny, he's definitely going to do that."
A narrative-defining season
Sanders beat bladder cancer last year, but that was not the first health concern of his coaching career. He had multiple toes amputated while at Jackson State. That, combined with Colorado's poor play, has made Sanders' status constant fodder for conversations among industry sources. Many were convinced 2025 would be his last, but Sanders has made a habit throughout his life of zigging when people expect him to zag.
But the rumors won't go away if CU struggles this season, and it may force new athletic director Fernando Lovo to make a significant decision at season's end if Sanders misses a bowl for the third time in four years. Much of the shine has worn off the Buffs' experience, and that's what happens when you don't win to back up the hype.
Colorado has been many things since Sanders arrived. They need to find a way to be good at football.
