Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes football team have shocked the college football world in just two games this season. Having already surpassed their win total from last season, the Buffaloes bear no resemblance to last year's team. In fact, there are 86 new players on the Colorado 2023 roster, coming from high school to junior colleges to other Power Five programs. Sanders hasn't been shy about this either, as he never is in any of his endeavors. Sanders and the 2023 Buffaloes have honestly exceeded any sort of expectations they had coming into the season, as most thought this was nothing more than a publicity stunt equivalent to a celebrity running for president. Sanders may be trumping that narrative, making this new venture of his legitimate and profitable, much like his playing career was. There's still a long season ahead, though, with some notable games remaining on the schedule.

Predicting the rest of Colorado football's 2023 schedule

Outside of next week's game against in-state rival Colorado State, the rest of the Buffaloes' schedule is all Pac-12 opponents. Assuming the Buffaloes do what they're supposed to as 22.5 point favorites and rout the Rams, the real tests will be in the next two weeks ahead. In back-to-back games, they'll travel first to Eugene, OR, to take on the Oregon Ducks, then back at home in Boulder to host the USC Trojans. These should be two of the best matchups in the Pac-12 all season, and the start of what will be, as of now, six of the seven total AP Poll top 25 opponents Colorado will face all season. The other was TCU in Week 1.

Colorado State

It will be yet another game where all the pregame focus is on Colorado and Coach Prime, with ESPN's College GameDay in attendance. And this one isn't even worthy of such an event to take place. The Buffaloes are more than a three-touchdown favorite. In-state rivalry game or not, Colorado and Sanders will be 3-0 heading into their biggest game of the year.

at Oregon

Assuming the Ducks get past Hawaii, both teams will be 3-0 in what will be a highly anticipated Pac-12 matchup. Most thought the road environment in Fort Worth against TCU in Week 1 would be a huge challenge for Colorado football, well, this one will be even greater. This should be the best offense the Buffaloes will face all season (until the next week), coupled with Oregon looking to figure things out on the defensive side of the ball after they gave up 30 points to Texas Tech last week, and we could be in for another shootout similar to the TCU game for Colorado. I think this one will be close, with whoever gets the ball last getting the win, which I believe will be Oregon, giving the Buffaloes their first loss.

USC

If Colorado does indeed take their first loss to Oregon, there will be indeed be a bit of a lull in this game where many will believe the wheels will start to fall off for the Buffaloes. But this is an extremely talented Pac-12 conference this season where one loss shouldn't be considered detrimental. Having Sanders as head coach, he seems to prepare his team well, and most will be looking to see how his team responds after a loss. I've been predicting this game not long since after Sanders took the job at Colorado, but I believe that they will upset an undefeated Trojans' team, where a red-hot home crowd in Boulder will play a huge part.

at Arizona State

This isn't going to be the year for Arizona State, who are self-imposing a bowl ban this year. There may be some things in the future to look forward to for the Sun Devils, like their offensive-minded head coach Kenny Dillingham and freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada, but this could be a trying year for them. The Buffaloes roll here.

Stanford

Andrew Luck isn't walking through that door, and David Shaw stepped down as head coach after last season. The Buffaloes are on another winning streak.

at UCLA

Coastal Carolina gave UCLA some fits in Week 1, but outside of that, we may not know exactly what kind of team Chip Kelly has this season until they face Utah in two weeks. This game being on the road at the Rose Bowl could make it interesting, but then again, it's not exactly a tough place to play. If Kelly can get his offense going, this could be a challenge for Colorado football, but I still believe this is another victory for Sanders' squad.

Oregon State

Like UCLA, we still don't truly know what kind of team Oregon State has quite yet. Former Clemson starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is now the man under center in Corvallis, making for what is a talented group of Pac-12 quarterbacks. Could the season start becoming long at this point for the Buffaloes? Will depth issues and overuse of Travis Hunter start playing a part? At this point in the season, this seems like a very winnable game for Colorado, but who knows how either of these teams will look at this point. This will be possibly the fifth-ranked team to this point of the season that Colorado will have faced. Colorado takes their second loss of the season.

Arizona

Arizona almost gave the SEC another out-of-conference loss last weekend but lost to Mississippi State by a touchdown in the end. If Colorado loses like I think they will to Oregon State the week before, the Buffaloes will be looking to make up for their home loss with a win this week.

at Washington State

Colorado football will finish their regular season with two tough games on the road against potentially ranked opponents. The first will be a night game in Pullman in late November against the Cougars, who are currently 2-0 coming off a big win against Wisconsin in Week 2. I feel like the Buffaloes will be able to pull this one off. It's the next week that will be the problem.

at Utah

Utah has consistently been one of the best-coached teams in all of the Pac-12 for some time now under head coach Kyle Whittingham. His Utes team has been winners of the last two conference titles. They more than likely will be in the thick of things again this season. Rice-Eccles Stadium is one of the best atmospheres in all of college football. The Buffaloes take their third and final loss of the regular season, giving them an overall nine-win season.