Senior quarterback Kaidon Salter jukes a BYU defender in the game against Brigham Young University at Folsom field on September 28th, 2025. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
This piece is from the CU Independent’s opinion section. Any opinions or views do not represent the CU Independent.
Two weeks ago, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders’ transitional third season at the University of Colorado Boulder was shaping up to be his worst endeavor yet. The Buffs dropped to 2-4, on the year after a late collapse to TCU and had come up empty-handed in their three Big 12 games up to that point.
There was no confidence behind quarterback Kaidon Salter, flat and inconsistent play calls from Pat Shurmur and a collective lack of excitement that Colorado fans grew accustomed to. The team was deprived of identity and Sanders fell to 15-16 all-time at CU.
However, while the program was reaching a breaking point and stared down No. 22 Iowa State a week later, the Buffs came back swinging. They upset the Cyclones 24-17 off a sharp defensive showing, giving Sanders’ just his second win against a ranked opponent since donning the black and gold. The unanticipated victory now shifts the entire tone of the season towards one goal: to go bowling.
The Buffs’ chances at winning the Big 12 went out the window after an 0-3 start to conference play. Nonetheless, intraleague records don’t play a part in becoming eligible for a bowl game. All that matters is reaching the magic number of six wins.
With five games left to play, Colorado holds three wins under their belt. On top of Iowa State, smooth victories over the inexperienced University of Delaware and University of Wyoming put them at the halfway point.
The current state of the Big 12 leaves an opportunity for a dark horse team to steal the spotlight, muddling how Buffs’ fans feel looking at their final five opponents. The next three weekends for CU begin on Saturday with a late showdown against the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. They then fly back for CU’s homecoming game against the University of Arizona on Nov. 1, and lastly jump to the East Coast for a matchup with West Virginia University.
After another bye, they play the final game of the year at Folsom against a likely ranked Arizona State University squad. Then, to wrap up the season they head to Manhattan, Kansas for the regular season finale against Kansas State University.
As of mid-October, the most beatable opponents out of the batch are West Virginia and Arizona. The Mountaineers have followed their lowly expectations from the pre-season, and Arizona has struggled on the road and hasn’t fared well in Big 12 play.
“I’m happy with the way they’re practicing [and] the way they are in meetings, [just] how attentive they are,” Sanders said in a press conference on Tuesday. “I’m seeing changes of personalities in practice habits, how physical they are … I’m happy with what I’ve seen in the last three days.”
The Buffaloes will begin their mission of chasing six wins on Saturday against Utah, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. MT. The game will stream on ESPN.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Baylan Wysuph at baylan.wysuph@colorado.edu.
