The 2023 College Football season has begun, with many teams starting off with lots of hype. Teams such as Washington, Duke, and Florida State have been drawing in lots of media attention, but this year’s biggest story has been the Colorado Buffaloes.
The Buffaloes really struggled in 2022, finishing with a 1-11 record.Because of the team’s poor performance, head coach Karl Dorell was fired and the position was open. At the same time, Deion Sanders had recently led Jackson State to a successful season with a 12-1 record. This led Colorado to hire Sanders in December of 2022, who brought many of his players from Jackson State and reworked the roster. These additions included Sanders’ son, Shedeur, who played quarterback at Jackson State. It also included receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter, along with Sanders’ other son, defensive back Shilo Sanders.
With the new additions to the roster, the Buffaloes captured lots of hype, but this didn’t come without their fair-share of haters. Doubters believed that Sanders would not be able to turn things around immediately at Colorado, and that he would need more time to recruit and improve his roster. Colorado started the season with a tough matchup against the national runner-ups, Texas Christian University. The Buffaloes entered as a big underdog, but surprised many when they were able to beat TCU 45-42. Following the win, Colorado entered the AP Top 25 for the first time with a ranking of 22. The Buffaloes followed up with a 36-14 win over Nebraska the next week, giving them their first win at home. Even after their 2-0 start, Colorado needed to be ready for their big rivalry game at home against Colorado State.
Colorado entered the matchup as a 23 point favorite against Colorado State, but as always there is uncertainty in predictions. Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell made headlines for his remarks about the matchup throughout the week,, “I don’t care if they hear this in Boulder. I told them [ESPN] — I took my hat off, and I took my glasses off. I said, ‘When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat and my glasses off.”
At the end of the first half, CSU had a surprising 21-14 lead and Colorado had lost their star cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter to a late hit that lacerated his liver. But in the fourth quarter, Colorado came out on fire tying the game and forcing double overtime. They ended up winning 43-35 on a touchdown pass by Shedeur Sanders. Following the win, Colorado was due for their toughest matchup of the year against the number 10 ranked Oregon Ducks.
Colorado entered the game as an underdog, as they were playing without the injured Hunter. Oregon immediately took a 13-0 lead after the first drive and never looked back. The Ducks held a 35-0 lead at half time, with the final being 42-6.
When asked about his team’s performance, Sanders said “We played like hot garbage, Good old-fashioned butt kicking. No excuses.”
Time will tell if this mentality will benefit Sanders and the Buffaloes as they travel back home to Boulder to host the undefeated number 8 ranked USC Trojans this Saturday, September 30.
