Entering his third season as head coach, Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes football team are preparing for their opening game against Georgia Tech. The game will take place at Folsom Field in Boulder on Aug. 29, 2025, with kickoff scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Mountain Time.
Colorado cornerback Preston Hodge expressed enthusiasm ahead of the season opener, saying, “Just getting the chills out, ready to step on that field and surrounded by 60,000 fans and all that noise. Just being able to make an impact on that field and show everybody that just because Travis (Hunter) and Shedeur are not here anymore, that we can still take it to the top.”
Seven players from last year’s team, which finished with a record of nine wins and four losses while contending for the Big 12 title, are now on NFL rosters. Notably among them are Travis Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2024 as the nation’s best player, and Shedeur Sanders, who set multiple passing records at Colorado.
Despite losing two prominent stars from last season, confidence remains high within the program. Sanders said, “Sure, there’s a couple athletes that were phenomenal (last year), but I think we – and I’ve been saying this for quite some while – we have a better team.”
External expectations have been low for the Buffaloes entering this season. Prediction magazines generally place Colorado near twelfth out of sixteen teams in the Big 12 Conference, and Las Vegas oddsmakers list their over/under win total at six games.
Linebacker Jeremiah Brown spoke about how criticism has motivated him and his teammates. “I feel like the team is very hungry,” he said. Brown added regarding outside doubts over recent seasons with Sanders as coach: “It’s always gonna be something, so you gotta use it as fuel.”
Wide receiver Drelon Miller addressed concerns about replacing key players: “We hear all the media, how they talk about we took a step down because of who we lost last year (…). And we did lose some big pieces, of course, but I feel like our recruiting staff did a tremendous job bringing in talented guys in those areas. I mean, of course, we can’t (replace) those people, but we can refill production, and that’s what our coaches preach. I just feel like as long as we refill that production, we’ll be OK.”
The Buffaloes will feature Kaidon Salter—a former Conference USA MVP—as quarterback along with new offensive linemen. Multiple receivers including Drelon Miller and Omarion Miller are expected to play key roles offensively; defensively several contributors from last year return alongside veteran additions.
Reflecting on continued skepticism since arriving at Colorado in 2023 after coaching at Jackson State University—where he also coached Brown—Sanders stated: “First it was the challenge of coming to this level (…). Could we change the game? We did. Then, can you consistently do it with the players you have? Can you win? We did. Now it’s well can you do it without Travis or Shedeur? (…) It’s always going to be a challenge, and I don’t mind that. I stand up to those. I’ve been challenged my whole darn life but this ain’t about me. This is about the kids that we’ve assembled and we will (stand up to the challenge).”
As preseason projections set modest expectations for Colorado’s performance this year in Sanders’ third season as head coach—and sixth overall at college level—the team aims to exceed predictions starting with Friday’s matchup against Georgia Tech.
Hodge summarized optimism within the locker room by stating: “The sky’s the limit for this team.”
