Big 12 · Deion Sanders, year 4 (18-22) · Folsom Field · 50,183 · 49,363 avg in 2026
LastL 7–41 at Northwestern · Sat Sep 19 · Joseph Williams 88 rec yds, 1 TD, 1 tackles
Nextat Baylor · Sat Sep 26 · 12 pm ET · McLane Stadium · Baylor by 10 · series 10-7 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| 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 | #142 | #11 | +3.5✗ | @Northwestern | L 7–41 135 | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #125 | #35 | +10 | @Baylor | |||
| 5 | Oct 3 | #125 | #7 | 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 19 | @Northwestern | L 7–41 | 348 | 4 | 23:07 | -0.143 | 41.0% | 109.3% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 12 | Weber State | W 52–21 | 578 | 2 | 30:05 | +0.467 | 45.9% | 159.3% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Sep 4 | @Georgia Tech | W 14–13 | 307 | 0 | 34:09 | +0.052 | 37.7% | 112.5% | One-score win |
| Season average (3 games) | 411 | 2.0 | +0.126 | 41.5% | 127.0% | ||||
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…
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 lost the last one.
I haven’t seen, since I’ve been here, a safety with that type of range that he showed on the one he barely dropped
Next Sep 26
vs Baylor · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-22
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
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
Colorado: an off-field feud following the program.
our readdeveloping
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
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 41 of 2491 board posts (2%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Colorado signed a top-13 transfer-portal class — 33 additions headlined by Kaidon Salter (QB) from Liberty and Noah King (CB) from Kansas State. It is third consecutive top-15 portal class. Portal pickups are proven college players — the split isn't about development, it's about whether they fit the scheme and win their position battles. Coverage is split on whether volume or positional fit is the bigger story.
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 332 of 2491 board posts (13%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected 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 lower than any point since 2020
3rd percentile among FBS programs
The bounces haven't gone their way on their own fumbles: 33% recovered, vs. ~52% expected.
2 of 6 own fumbles recovered themselves; 3 of 6 forced fumbles recovered, 2026 only.
Deflections without payoff: 8% of disrupted passes intercepted, vs. ~19% league-wide.
1 interceptions of 12 disrupted passes (11 deflected, 1 intercepted), 2026 only.
The flags haven't favored them: 28 penalties committed vs. 23 drawn on opponents, 83 yards behind.
247 penalty yards committed vs. 164 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Colorado · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026