Colorado football didn't exactly live up to its historic start as 2023 wore on. The Buffaloes began the Deion Sanders era in Boulder by winning their first three games of the season, a monumental achievement for a program coming off a 1-win campaign. But the rest of the schedule laid bare just how far Colorado has to go before staking its claim as not just a legitimate college football powerhouse, but even low-level bowl contender.
The Buffaloes have won just a single game since beginning the year 3-0, beating lowly Arizona State 27-24 on October 7th in between a series of blowout and hard-fought losses to Pac-12 opponents. They were run off the field by Oregon and Washington State, let opportunities slip away against USC, Stanford and Arizona and were flat out-played by UCLA and Oregon State. Entering Saturday's season finale at Utah, there's no reason but to expect more of the same from Colorado.
But don't mistake his 4-7 team's season-ending slide as any indication of Sanders losing confidence in the Buffaloes' long-term trajectory. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, he the Buffs' first-year coach characterized the 2023 season as a clear success compared to past program results, also warning the rest of the college football world of what's to come in Boulder.
Deion Sanders remains confident in Colorado's trajectory
“We didn't accomplish what we wanted, but we accomplished what we wanted. I think hope is instilled tremendously in this city, in this student body, within this team, within this building that you see the direction that we're headed,” Sanders said, per Nikki Edwards of CU Sports Report. “So what you think that you look to as a loss, some kinda way I see it as a win. I think we didn't do, certainly, what I wanted to do. But we're doing tremendously, much more, than what was done. So you gotta put it in perspective. There are some things that we accomplished that are tremendous, there's some things that we didn't. But we're taking a step in the right direction—two steps in the right direction as a matter of fact.”
Sanders, remember, brought in 57 transfers to Colorado this season, completely revamping the team's roster following an era of ineptitude that reached its nadir in 2022. Quarterback Shedeur Sanfers and defensive back Shilo Sanders, his sons, came to Boulder with him from Jackson State, as did two-way star Travis Hunter, the No. 1 overall recruit in the high school class of 2022.
All three starred for the Buffaloes in 2023, with Shilo Sanders and Hunter set to return next season. There's a chance Shedeur Sanders put off the NFL for another year, too, coming back in 2024 to rehab his draft stock after a shaky finish to his first campaign against FBS competition.
Even beyond those three players, though, Colorado is bound to be more talented next season than it was in Sanders' debut. The Buffaloes have just nine signees in their 2024 high school class, set to once again make waves in the transfer portal once it opens at the conclusion of 2023. Expect Sanders and his coaching staff to aggressively target offensive linemen and defensive playmakers in the portal, re-making the most problematic position groups on this season's team courtesy of high-level transfers from across the country.
Sanders isn't relying on those hopeful possibilities alone as justification for already calling his Colorado football tenure a success. Was anyone even halfway interested in Buffaloes football this time last year? That's the question that seems most important to Sanders as 2023 comes to a close, with more hard truths awaiting some incumbent players as the offseason dawns and expectations are raised once again.
“I'm proud of these young men, I'm proud of the coaching staff. The student body and the support, the fans—nationally, not just locally—has been phenomenal. We pretty much put a mark in college football and what we're gonna do from here on, it will never be the same, I promise you that,” Sanders said. “Because I know how we're recruiting, I know what I know and I know where we're headed. And you gotta be crazy if you can't see it. It's easy to look at us play and say, ‘Okay, all they need is that, that and that, and they straight.' How many times have you said that? But see, when I say it you get a little attitude, if I sit up here and tell you what we need. But you can say it, but I can't right? ‘Cause you get sensitive. You want to treat grown men like they're babies. We don't do that around here. We say what's the truth.”
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