Colorado coach Deion Sanders believes his 2025 roster is better than last season’s team that featured Heisman winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Both players are expected to be top NFL draft picks.
ESPN analyst Joey Galloway isn’t buying Coach Prime’s assessment.
“He lost the best player in college football in Travis Hunter. He lost his starting quarterback. They’re going to take a step back. You gotta win the games you are supposed to win, and then be competitive in the other games,” Galloway said on ESPN’s “Get Up” this week.
The Buffaloes face questions about whether they can maintain their momentum without their two biggest stars.
Josh Pate expects Colorado to win between six and nine games this fall. He’s factoring in what should be an extremely competitive Big 12 conference.
“Being competitive in every game. That could be six wins. It could be nine wins in the Big 12. What he knows is what he’s experienced, and that is the gap between the lead car and No. 11 car in that lead field is very narrow,” Pate said.
The broader context matters when evaluating Sanders’ program.
“But, I just encourage people. If you start thinking about Colorado, think about them pre-Deion Sanders because that’s still the backdrop against which I view them. I mean, six wins, seven wins, whatever it is, could be nine wins. If they’re competitive, that is lightyears better than what they were 72 months ago and beyond.”
Sanders inherited a program that had fallen into national irrelevance under Karl Dorrell. The Buffaloes went 1-11 in Dorrell’s final season before he was fired.
Sanders transformed Colorado into a nationally relevant program in just two seasons. The question now is whether he’s built something sustainable in Boulder.
That sustainability matters for Sanders’ long-term plans. He won’t want to stay at a school that’s only relevant because of his presence and wouldn’t otherwise invest properly in its football program.
