Colorado

Marion, Colorado’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, said the Buffaloes completed 14 spring practices with their base offense, situational packages and special plays installed. That shifts the next phase toward execution and personnel: who can process the system at speed, and which combinations give it the best chance to work? Sanders has publicly described 30 points per game as the offense’s threshold for winning. Reaching that mark will require more than tempo. Colorado must pair the system’s multiplicity with reliable quarterback decisions, coordinated blocking and a backfield rotation that can stay organized while moving fast.

Julian Lewis begins with the strongest recent Colorado production in the quarterback room. He completed 52 of 94 passes for 589 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in four appearances, including two starts, during 2025. He also led the spring game’s only touchdown drive and finished it with a scoring pass to Danny Scudero. Isaac Wilson brings prior Power Four starting experience, making this a genuine competition rather than a ceremonial challenge. Lewis has familiarity and recent production; Wilson offers experience from another major-conference setting. Colorado has not named a starter, and Marion’s eventual choice will shape how much of the offense can be used immediately.

The skill-position rooms give either quarterback options. Scudero previously played for Marion at Sacramento State, a connection that could help translate the new system for the rest of the receiving corps. Sanders has described that group as fast enough to threaten defenses vertically and sustain drives. The backfield is even more crowded, combining returners DeKalon Taylor, Micah Welch, Titus Bautista and Leonardo Valle with newcomers Damian Henderson, Bryce Hicks, JaQuail Smith and Richard Young. Henderson also played for Marion at Sacramento State. The depth suits an offense built around multiple backfield combinations, but Colorado still has to turn eight options into a dependable rotation.

Up front, veteran transfer center Demetrius Hunter may be the offense’s most important stabilizer. Colorado’s staff has presented him as a communicator, while Yahya Attia emerged as another leadership voice during spring. Their command matters when the offense is changing pictures and making calls at tempo. The larger concern sits at tackle, where All-American Jordan Seaton’s January transfer-portal entry removed the line’s established cornerstone. Colorado has not publicly settled on a replacement at left tackle or a best five. Until those combinations take shape, protecting a young quarterback and creating clean movement for Marion’s run game will remain intertwined challenges.

Chris Marve’s first defense will lean heavily on communication. During spring, Colorado expanded its coverage versatility while emphasizing pursuit, aggression and assignment discipline across the secondary. Veteran defensive back Ben Finneseth called that secondary the team’s best room, citing its depth, playmaking and buy-in. His assessment carries the optimism of a player inside the program, but Finneseth, Naeten Mitchell and Cree Thomas also represented Colorado at Big 12 media day, reflecting their expected prominence. If that group becomes the defense’s anchor, it can give Marve flexibility while he sorts the defensive-front and linebacker rotations.

That sorting process extends across a roster with 42 incoming and 38 outgoing transfers. Colorado has added extensive prior-school experience at running back, along both lines and throughout the secondary, giving Sanders and his coordinators mature options without guaranteeing immediate continuity. Special teams presents a smaller version of the same challenge. Josh McCormick made two field goals in the 7-6 spring game, Sanders identified the unit as a major area of spring growth, and Kansas transfer Damon Greaves is listed at punter. Replacing established kicker Alejandro Mata still makes specialist consistency an important camp storyline.

Colorado will have to grow up quickly. The Buffaloes open at Georgia Tech, host Weber State and visit Northwestern before beginning Big 12 play at Baylor and returning home for Texas Tech. That is three road games in the first four FBS matchups for a team choosing a quarterback and integrating new systems. A later run against Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Arizona State applies another sustained test. The talent and schematic ambition offer a plausible route out of last season’s struggles, but the path runs through ordinary, demanding football work: protect the quarterback, define the rotations and communicate well enough for a rebuilt roster to play as one.

#14

3-6 projected · 2.9 expected conference wins · #14 of 16.

Season outlook

Projected win