How realistic are Colorado’s national championship aspirations?
Head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders didn’t mince words; the Colorado Buffaloes are competing for a championship this year.
“We're trying to win a championship,” Sanders said after the Buffaloes’ 52-21 win over the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday. “I'm a winner. I've always won, and I want to win.”
In the Coach Prime era, the Buffaloes have gone 17-21 and were ranked as high as 16th in the national AP Poll. With an expanded College Football Playoff field, the Buffs might sneak their way into the dark horse conversation by Week 6.
Colorado is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since Sanders’ first year in Boulder in 2023. The Buffs have the ninth-toughest strength of record, thanks in large part to their miracle win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. ESPN’s strength of record is used to test how well teams are performing with their schedule compared to an average Top 25 team. Combine that with a bottom-half strength of schedule, the Buffs have found themselves in a unique position where they could realistically win nine or 10games.
The rest of the teams on Colorado’s schedule are a combined just 6-4 through two weeks against FBS opponents. Furthermore, the Buffs will go on a two-game road trip against the Northwestern Wildcats and Baylor Bears for their second and third game away from Folsom Field in four weeks, testing their resilience and ability to win on the road. That scheduling will also mean that more impactful games later in the season will be in front of their home fans.
Sanders has continuously praised Buff Nation for its support this season.
“We have the best fans in the country,” Sanders said. “I mean, they took over [Georgia Tech’s] stadium [last week].”
Every currently ranked opponent the Buffs will face this year will have to play on Folsom Field, giving a true home-field advantage to Colorado against its toughest opponents. The new College Football Playoff rules also dictate that each Power Four conference champion will get an auto bid to the playoffs. Playing your toughest conference opponents on your own turf will make a big difference and could help the Buffs get the nod to compete for a Big 12 championship and, in turn, a national championship.
Furthermore, each of the past two weeks has served its purpose – and the Buffs have won. Week 1against Georgia Tech, the Buffs did what they needed to do to win, down to a blocked field goal to seal the game in their favor. They established the run game with new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense and showcased their running back-by-committee approach. They racked up 183 yards on the ground.
More importantly, Colorado’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown and held the second-best running back in the transfer portal to just 64 yards.
Their Week 2 matchup got the passing game going, with redshirt freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis setting a new school record for passing yards in a quarter with 212 yards in the first.e completed seven of his eight passes for three touchdowns – also a school record for touchdown passes in the first quarter. This performance against an FCS opponent in Weber State was designed to get Lewis familiar with the “Go-Go” system and get his confidence up.
“Nobody cares about the 300 yards and whatever,” Lewis said after the performance. “Yeah, it’s just on to the next.”
Colorado looks like it’s firing on all cylinders right now, sitting pretty and undefeated. Still, Sanders knows the Buffs have a long way to go until they are ready to compete for a national title, even after a performance of nearly 600 yards of total offense.
“We didn't get done what we wanted to get done,” Sanders said. “There's no way that we're satisfied with the outcome.”
Being in the mix for a national title requires a lot to go the Buffaloes’ way. Even though the wind may be turning in their favor, they can’t just sail to lifting trophies. The Buffs have a long way to go until they can be considered in the mix for a national championship, and their expectations shouldn’t be that high until they’ve played, let alone won, their first conference game. If the Buffs win their first three conference games against Baylor in Waco, Texas, the No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders at home and the No. 17 Utah Utes after their bye week, a national championship could be in the picture. Until then, Colorado remains a long shot, and their dream will remain just that – a dream.
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