With all the unhinged headlines surrounding Colorado football, Deion Sanders, Warren Sapp, and Shedeur Sanders, there's never been a better time to dogpile on this program. But when the crowd zigs, Joel Klatt zags. That might be why the Fox Sports' college football commentator proclaimed that the Buffaloes were a dark horse contender to win the Big 12.
“I would be insane to not put Colorado in there as a dark horse for the Big 12,” Klatt said. “They're really talented. They might have the best quarterback in the entire league and their skill position players are insanely talented.
“This team, I think, is an eight or nine-win team, which puts them in the conversation in a deep quality league for a potential bid in the Big 12 Championship game,” Klatt continued. “If they keep Shedeur Sanders upright and he can throw to some of these players on the outside like Travis Hunter, watch out! Colorado's gonna win a lot of games!”
The No. 12 Utah Utes are the highest-ranked team in the AP Top 25, but how much stock does a preseason college football poll have? You might need a refresher on which teams make up Big-12 football: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Brigham Young, Central Florida, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Utah and West Virginia. At least half the conference probably has a shot to win it.
Colorado football returns Sanders and has three very talented wide receivers in Hunter, LaJohntay Wester and Will Sheppard.
Parsing Joel Klatt's expectations of Colorado football, Shedeur Sanders
![Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a spring game event at Folsom Field.](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Joel-Klatt-hits-Colorado-football-with-dark-horse-Big-12-prediction.jpg)
Maybe last year's hype was out of pocket. Maybe Deion Sanders played the media like a fiddle to do his bidding in promoting the program.
In hindsight, Colorado football's incredible start to the 2023 season couldn't last forever, and the media's fascination with it left a bad taste in many people's mouths.
That doesn't change the fact that Sanders is widely considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft class. Hunter is also thought to be a first-round lock. NFL talent gives Colorado football a reasonable shot at challenging the better teams in their conference.
“[Colorado football] has a difficult stretch early: North Dakota State and Nebraska,” Klatt concluded. “If they win both of those games, then watch out, because guess what? It's going to be 2023 all over again. That hype train is going to be barreling down the rails, and I might be driving!”
Another hot start in 2024 would get the media in a frenzy again.