Lost season? Don’t tell that to Colorado fans
Colorado Buffaloes football under Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders is the TV show everyone raved about in the pilot episode, but four seasons in, it’s become stale. What used to be the easiest product to market in college football is now being cast away onto streaming services.
But on Friday night, in a 42-32 win over the No. 14 Houston Cougars, CU pulled out another bit of voodoo and reminded the country that when it does win, those wins are memorable.
Colorado erased a 13-point deficit multiple times to win its first game against a top-15 opponent since upsetting the then-No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners in 2007.
You can’t blame networks for no longer placing the Buffs in optimal broadcast time slots. CU has three wins in Big 12 play in two seasons, and the Buffs are 4-15 in games against Power Four opponents in that time.
That theme didn’t look like it would change against Houston, but a 21-point second quarter turned the game on its head.
Colorado became fun again.
Students did shuffle in late, but once the stadium filled in, the “blackout” theme on display was a success. Running back DeKalon Taylor’s 67-yard touchdown right before halftime certainly raised the decibel level.
“[The fans] come here, and I love them to life,” Sanders said after the game. “This fanbase is undarn believable.”
It wasn’t all excitement before the game, though. Scouring the concourse, I found a group of students who were candid about their thoughts on the season and the home environment.
“Folsom is becoming mostly just a bar for students, like Coors Field is [home of the MLB Colorado Rockies],” said Adrian Sanchez, a University of Colorado Boulder student in attendance on Friday. “[Folsom] is profitable, but not because the Buffs are winning games.”
The family weekend game against the then-No. 11 Utah Utes remains the only sellout at Folsom this season. Comparatively, the average attendance in 2025 was 50,469, with five sellouts, even though the Buffs won three games. 2026’s season average to date is 49,155.
That’s hard to stomach for Colorado, which was accustomed to FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay gracing the Flatirons every other weekend in 2023 and 2024.
Regardless of the lack of that national buzz, CU has developed a knack for the unexpected this season. The Buffs moved to 2-0 on weekdays this season, including a Week 1 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on a Thursday.
Folsom woke up against all logic, and the field-storming and field-goal posts coming down painted the picture of a team that hasn’t lost the fight.
Coach Prime picked up the signature win of his tenure and, in the process, reignited a fanbase that didn’t have much to cheer for in the nine games prior.
The Sanders experiment looked like it was heading for a cancellation. But don’t underestimate the impact one good episode can have.
Colorado keeps teaching that lesson.
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