There's no use in sugarcoating it: Colorado's 2025 season, Deion Sanders' third as the team's head coach, was a disaster. After a 2-2 start, the Buffaloes lost seven of their final eight games, including five in a row to finish the season at 3-9.
Everyone expected a step backward in Boulder this season without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. Nobody anticipated a gigantic leap in the wrong direction, with serious questions surrounding the program and whether Coach Prime can right the ship, or if this is just the beginning of the end for Sanders and Colorado.
It doesn't help that, with just a few days before Early Signing Day, Colorado has just 10 total commitments and a class that ranks 99th in the composite.
There's talent on this roster, but not nearly enough. And with Sanders once again choosing to ignore what could be his greatest strength, there's not a ton of reason for optimism. You might just have to take Coach Prime's words for it.
He has remained emphatic about getting things right at Colorado. He doesn't seem interested in any open jobs. He wants to win here. And the ninth loss of the 2025 season didn't change his resolve.
"If anybody is built to reconcile and get this back on course, it's me," Sanders said in the postgame. "And I will do it if it's the last thing I do on earth. Trust me when I tell you. This was the Last Supper."
Deion Sanders is vowing to resurrect Colorado football
Sanders has a way with words to make anyone excited. It's an innate ability to cause you to ignore what you are seeing with your own eyes and all the reasons why it might be foolish to buy into the future of this program.
But it's hard to bet against Coach Prime. He's proven doubters wrong time and time again. He's already done it once at Colorado. There were plenty who didn't think he could win anything of note in Boulder, and in just his second season, the Buffs went 9-4 and finished tied for first in the Big 12.
The biggest reason for optimism is a legitimate QB to build around for next season. The Buffs missed with Kaidon Salter this year. While a talented player, he was never a fit for the style of offense that Sanders wanted to run.
Julian Lewis is. The freshman flashed his immense potential in back-to-back November starts before sitting out the finale against Kansas State to preserve his redshirt season.
Sanders will roll the dice in the Transfer Portal again this offseason. His roster building via the portal came up with snake eyes a year ago, leading to a disappointing 2025 season and limited young talent to build upon.
How he navigates the portal this offseason will determine whether he can truly resurrect the program a second time or if his tenure is dead and gone.