The Colorado Buffaloes are coming off a successful first year back in the Big 12. Despite having two of the most talented players in the nation and a decent supporting cast, Deion Sanders' reboot in Boulder might be difficult to watch.
The task of replacing Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders will arguably be the Achilles Heel for Coach Prime and the Buffs. Being able to flip talent in the transfer portal helps, but keeping the production value on both sides will be nearly impossible to do.
ESPN's Kyle Bonagura has covered Colorado starting in the B.P. (Before Prime) era in Boulder. He contributed to the '10 must-know storylines' going into the 2025 college football season and detailed the current state of the Buffs.
"The Colorado Buffaloes proved a lot of the skeptics wrong last year by posting a nine-win season and losing out on a chance to play in the Big 12 title game due to a tiebreaker," Bonagura wrote.
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"It was a remarkable improvement over the previous season, when Colorado finished in last place in the Pac-12. But for Deion Sanders, here's where the real test probably begins. Even with a generational talent in Travis Hunter and a dynamic quarterback with his son, Shedeur Sanders, the Buffaloes were still just 13-12 over the past two seasons. They masked a lot of issues. Without them, the team's on-field identity will inevitably evolve. And with that, we'll also likely get a better understanding of how committed Coach Prime is to the job long term."
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However, Sanders recently signed a five-year, $54 million extension with Colorado and seemed to be locked in for the long haul. Coach Prime has made it clear he wants to be the first Black head coach to win a national championship and has been given many resources to put it all together.
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Only time will tell if Sanders and his staff can repeat last year's success. Either way, there will be no shortage of storylines coming out of Boulder with Sanders at the helm.