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Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warmup prior to the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

College Football Insider's Bold Prediction On Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes 2025 Season

Originally posted on Colorado Buffaloes on SI
By Angela Miele | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 9:26 PM ET

Deion Sanders coached his first season with the Colorado Buffaloes in 2023 and helped turn a one-win program into a Big 12 contender. Sanders will now enter his first season coaching without quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter.

The Buffaloes are heading into a season with a new team, and there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the offense. Liberty transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter is the expected starter with four-star recruit Julian Lewis entering his true freshman season. Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt discussed his expectations for Sanders’ team in 2023 while appearing on The Herd.

“I don’t see them taking a huge step back, maybe a small one,” Klatt said. “So two things. One, they’ve recruited at a very high level, and they’ve brought in a couple of quarterbacks, Kaidon Salter, a quarterback transfer from Liberty. And they also got Julian Lewis, who decommitted from USC.”

With Liberty in 2024 Salter passed for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. He threw just six interceptions. Salter brings in a veteran presence to this team, but there is a chance the team switches to Lewis if they choose to reevaluate their options.

“Deion has done a really great job, whether it’s been in the portal or in high school, recruiting to try to reload, they need to continue to get better at the line of scrimmage.”

The offensive line is one of the biggest question marks heading into the 2025 college football season. Offensive linemen Zack Owens and Cash Cleveland are two tough transfer portal losses. Colorado still has strong players, including upcoming four-star offensive tackle Carde Smith, but it could take time for the offensive line to develop this season.

“The more difficult part for me, and I know this sounds crazy, even more so than replacing Shedeur and Travis is the Big 12 … if you look at right now, what Vegas says about the team that they think is the worst team in the Big 12, the over-under is set at 5.5,” Klatt continued. “If you look at the team that they think is the best team in the Big 12, the over-under is set at 8.5.”

The Colorado Buffaloes finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 overall record, going 7-2 in Big 12 conference play. The Buffaloes were ranked No. 4 in the Big 12, but losing key members of the offense is difficult to bounce back from. There is high potential with the players Sanders has on the roster.

“So you’ve got basically 14,15,16 teams within three games of one another. That’s what I think is the most difficult part of the Big 12 and why it’s so difficult to predict. Could Colorado be a four-win team? Maybe. Could they be a nine-win team? Maybe that this conference is just so deep and bunched together with a lot of quality programs,” Klatt said.

The team has just as much of a chance to compete in the Big 12 as any other team in the conference. The Buffaloes have +2500 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook to be Big 12 Conference Championship winners next season. The team has -176 odds to go under 6.5 wins.

The Colorado Buffaloes will kick off the 2025 season on Aug. 29 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.