

After a season that appeared to signal Colorado’s return to relevance, the Buffaloes could be heading in the opposite direction under Deion Sanders as they’re tipped to land at just 10th place in the Big 12 Conference in the 2025/26 NCAA season.
ESPN’s latest projections suggest, based on their Football Power Index (FPI), Colorado to go 6.5-5.5 this fall, marking a stark drop from their breakthrough campaign last year that saw them finish an impressive 9-3.
The numbers place the Buffaloes as a fringe bowl team, a notable decline for a program that just made an appearance in the Alamo Bowl and looked poised to build on that momentum despite losing the Heisman Trophy-winning Travis Hunter.
The Kansas State Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils are forecasted to lead the Big 12 in 2025, with Kansas State predicted to finish 8.6-3.7 and Arizona State close behind at 8.3-3.9.
Notably, Arizona State is coming off a dominant 2024 season in which they went 10-2 and won the Big 12 Championship over the Iowa State Cyclones before losing to the Texas Longhorns in the Peach Bowl.
A slide down the rankings
Take these rankings with a pinch of salt, however, as ahead of the 2024/25 NCAA season, the Wildcats were tipped to lead the Big 12 but fell to middle-of-the-pack territory instead, finishing up in eighth.
So national projections are painting a glum picture for Coach Prime. ESPN’s model not only places the Buffaloes behind traditional Big 12 powers like Kansas State and the Baylor Bears, but also behind programs still stabilizing, such as Iowa State and UCF Knights.
So there is still hope for Sanders after his second year at the helm of Folsom Field delivered results: nine wins, a strong conference record, and a near-miss at a Big 12 Championship berth due to tiebreaker rules.
Colorado finished in a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings but was slotted fourth after head-to-head results were factored in, a performance that was seen as a critical turning point for a program that had struggled in the previous decade.
Sanders continues making progress with Colorado Buffaloes
All the same, the work continues for Sanders and he continues to attract talent to nurture on their pathways to the NFL, including landing a commitment from Kyle Carpenter, a versatile prospect out of Buford High School in Georgia.
Carpenter played both cornerback and wide receiver at Buford and also stood out in basketball, scoring 17 points in a state playoff game, mirroring some of the qualities of Hunter – now with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 6’2″, 200-pound athlete joins a program that already includes former Buford standouts Mantrez Walker and Alejandro Mata and his senior season saw him post 142 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions, helping Buford reach the GHSA 6A state semifinals.
Carpenter’s commitment reinforces that Colorado is still a draw for elite high school athletes, giving Coach Prime something to work with in his bid to prove ESPN wrong.
This news was originally published on this post .
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