BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders doubled down on his big bet with the Buffaloes.
Last year, in his first season as Colorado’s football coach, he did a clean sweep to overhaul the program, revamping the roster by bringing in 68 new scholarship players, including 47 transfers from other four-year schools. This year, he’s changed the roster again, bringing in 50 new scholarship players, including 39 new transfers.
But will his second team-rebuilding strategy work better this time around after finishing 4-8 last season?
Here are three reasons the Buffaloes will be much better in Sanders’ second season in Boulder — and three reasons they could fail.
Colorado opens the season here at Folsom Field on Thursday against North Dakota State (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Reason for success #1: The defense is better.
Sanders has raved about his depth on defense, especially up front. Of the 39 new scholarship players transferring, 14 are defensive linemen or linebackers, helping transform a 130th-ranked defenseth out of 133 major college teams last year in yards allowed per game (453.3).
“I think we’re looking at seven or eight players on defense who are probably going to be pros by the end of the season,” Deion Sanders told reporters this month, noting that he regularly gets feedback from NFL scouts.
Among those new players are Arizona State transfer defensive end B.J. Green and Pittsburgh transfer defensive end Dayon Hayes. Both will be part of an aggressive new scheme under new defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, a former Cincinnati Bengals assistant.
“We have all styles of rushers here, so it’s going to be very scary for offenses,” Hayes said recently. “They can’t beat them. Everybody has something different to bring, so I love that.”
Reason for success #2: Legitimate stars
Only two Colorado players have jerseys for sale at the campus bookstore (for $110 each): quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback-receiver Travis Hunter. Both could be first-round picks in the NFL draft next April. Both have also secured major endorsement deals, including a new deal with Nike for Shedeur, who set a school record last year with 3,230 yards passing.
This will be the last college season that Deion Sanders coaches his two sons — Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, a safety who led the team in tackles in 2023.
The two brothers see it as a simple question of progression.
“Look at what we had last year,” Shilo Sanders said in July. “Look at how close most of the games were. And look at who we have now. It’s a big difference.”
Last year, the Buffs lost five of eight games by seven points or fewer. This year, they strengthened their weaknesses to close that gap, including the running game, which ranked as the worst in major college football in 2023 at just 68.9 yards per game. Running back Dallan Hayden has since transferred from Ohio State with three years of eligibility remaining.
Reason for Success #3: Better Blocking
The offensive line was the biggest problem to address after last season, when the Buffs allowed the second-most quarterback sacks in the country (56). The hits took a toll on Shedeur Sanders, who took painkillers off and on to sustain himself and finished the season with a fractured back.
But none of the starters who finished last season are on the team this year. They have since been replaced by transfers, up-and-comers and Jordan Seaton, the nation’s top offensive line recruit.
They should be better, if only because they can’t be worse, though questions remain about the depth of the roster beyond the starting five. Seaton also needs experience to develop his toughness, new offensive line coach Phil Loadholt said recently.
“I feel good with six, seven, maybe eight at the moment,” Loadholt said. “We’re trying to get to 10.”
Reason for concern #1: Chemistry after roster change
Deion Sanders has already questioned the value and meaning of “culture” and “chemistry” within a football team.
But in the case of the Buffaloes last year, it’s fair to say the team could have done a lot better if it had more of both: a killer instinct to avoid disappointment while knowing how to push each other to get the job done.
For example, why did the Buffs blow a 29-0 halftime lead last year in a 46-43 loss to Stanford? And why haven’t they been able to recapture their magic after starting last year 3-0?
Both of those drops could be partly due to the fact that his team was comprised of many new players with no prior team experience. On a limited roster of 85 scholarship players, last year’s team had just nine players who played in Colorado in 2022.
And now Sanders has changed the team’s roster again. USA TODAY Sports counted at least 36 players who left the team since last year and still had college eligibility. Of those 36 departures, 31 were recruits Sanders signed since he arrived in December 2022. Only 28 scholarship players return from last year’s team.
Reason for concern #2: Too much pressure on one man?
Shedeur Sanders is Colorado’s best quarterback since Kordell Stewart in 1994 — a generational star who will likely also be the first Colorado quarterback drafted since Koy Detmer in 1997. The Buffs can’t afford to see him cut again. It’s not even clear who his apparent successor at quarterback will be in 2025, in part because Colorado put a lot of eggs in Shedeur’s basket in 2023 and 2024.
Last year, those eggs finally fell and cracked. He played through soreness late last season and missed the season finale at Utah, where freshman Ryan Staub started in his place before losing, 23-17. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Monday that Staub is the “solid” No. 2 QB right now.
Reason for concern #3: A difficult start
Last year, they started the season 3-0 with wins at TCU, home against Nebraska and home against Colorado State. This year, after opening against the Bisons on Thursday, those two rivalry games against Nebraska and Colorado State will be away, where the Buffs will be demonized in hostile environments in prime time on NBC and CBS.
If they start 1-2 or 0-3, they’ll have to do the opposite of last year and pull it together until the end to qualify for a Big 12 bowl game. Will this team have the guts to do it with so many new players playing together for the first time?
It probably won’t be easy Thursday against the Bisons either, though a warm, energetic atmosphere is expected at Folsom Field after CU students start classes this week. North Dakota State plays in the lower division of the College Football Championship Game but is typically a national contender at that level and finished in the semifinals last year at 11-4.
“We have to give it our all,” Livingston said. “We expect a tough fight.”
Follow journalist Brent Schrotenboer @SchrotenboerEmail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
