After a nine-win season in 2024, the Colorado football team will enter its third year under Deion Sanders facing significant roster changes. Key players such as Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have departed for the National Football League after helping the team achieve its best result in eight years.
Josh Pate, appearing on ‘Get Up’ Thursday morning, discussed how the expectations for Sanders’ third season should focus on competitiveness, given the Buffaloes’ place in an open Big 12 conference and recent history. Pate said, “Being competitive in every game. That could be six wins. It could be nine wins in the Big 12. What he knows is what he’s experienced, and that is the gap between the lead car and No. 11 car in that lead field is very narrow.(…)But, I just encourage people. If you start thinking about Colorado, think about them pre-Deion Sanders because that’s still the backdrop against which I view them. I mean, six wins, seven wins, whatever it is, could be nine wins. If they’re competitive, that is lightyears better than what they were 72 months ago and beyond.”
ESPN analyst Joey Galloway agreed with Pate’s view of realistic goals for Sanders and Colorado this season, considering roster changes and past performance. Galloway stated, “I agree with you, 100%. I think that people have these lofty expectations that are sort of unfair (…) He lost the best player in college football in Travis Hunter, lost his starting quarterback. And so, they’re going to take a step back.(…)You’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to win. You’ve got to always do that. And then be competitive in the other games. When you have ranked opponents, when you have opponents at home, you have to be competitive in those games. You go back to before he got there, nobody was talking about Colorado at all. We wouldn’t be having this discussion on ‘Get Up’ with you right now. So, they just need to win the games they’re supposed to and be competitive in those other games against ranked opponents.”
The program faces additional challenges following the departure of several key players through both graduation and selections in the 2025 NFL Draft—including receivers Lajohntay Wester and Jimmy Horn Jr., running back Isaiah Augustave, defensive end BJ Green II (the team leader in sacks), as well as significant contributors from both offensive and defensive squads.
With these changes ahead of their third season under Sanders’ leadership—and not expected to contend immediately for double-digit wins or a conference championship—analysts suggest a successful year would center on maintaining competitiveness throughout their schedule.
If Colorado remains a challenging opponent week-to-week despite these losses from last season’s roster turnover, observers note it would represent notable progress for both Sanders and the program.
