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The Deion Sanders Experiment is Quickly Falling Apart

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 6:59 AM ET

Do you remember when The Rock and Lil Wayne attended Colorado games? Do you remember when ESPN spent 24 hours a day talking about head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes? You should remember both, because they only happened two years ago.

Fast forward to 2025 and the excitement has faded, and ESPN has moved on. That further solidified itself on Friday night when Colorado (1-2) traveled to Houston (3-0) for their Big 12 opener and left with a 36-20 loss. After the game, Sanders was very blunt about the team’s play.

“We’re not struggling, we’re getting our butts kicked,” he said. “You don’t have to be polite. You don’t have to sugarcoat it. I come from a mama who kept it a buck with me so let’s keep it a buck. We’re getting our butts kicked. We’re not as successful on either side of the ball as we would wish to be.”

Sanders is correct, Colorado isn’t successful on either side of the ball. It is difficult to find an aspect of the game that they do succeed at. During the previous two season, with quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes could always rely on a potent passing game. That is long gone. One quarterback change has already happened, with Ryan Staub taking over for Kaidon Salter. After last night’s game, when Staub completed 19 of 35 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, does Sanders go back to Salter? Or does he make the move the inevitable move to true freshman Julian Lewis?

Sep 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

As for the running game, it needed to make a drastic improvement to make up for the lack of a dynamic passing game. And while it has been a little better, it is nowhere near where it needs to be. And that hasn’t been helped by an offensive line that has been inconsistent at best since Sanders’ arrived in Boulder, Colo.

On defense, against the two P4 opponents, Houston and Georgia Tech, the unit has given up an average of 447 yards per game. They have been especially porous against the run, where the Cougars and Yellow Jackets have rushed for an average of 264 yards.

All of this amounts to serious problems for the 2025 season. After playing Wyoming next Saturday, the next five Big 12 opponents are a combined 11-0 this season. It isn’t unreasonable to think that the Buffaloes will be out of bowl contention by the time this stretch is complete, which would be quite a disappointment for the program on November 1^st.

I have said multiple times that while I didn’t think Sanders was a great FBS head coach, it was the right hire for Colorado. The program needed life, needed excitement, needed to become relevant again. And Sanders accomplished all of that. But now after 28 games he has led the Buffaloes to a 14-14 record and the shine has faded a little faster than many expected.

Colorado had become accustomed to being irrelevant during the college football season and now they are track to returning there if something drastic doesn’t happen in the coming weeks.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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