It may not feel like it for Colorado fans after a disappointing 2-3 start to the 2025 season, but the perception from other coaches is that Coach Prime's team isn't far away from breaking through.
That's certainly the perception TCU head coach Sonny Dykes has heading into this weekend's matchup in Fort Worth. He knows his team is in for a battle and will need to bring their A-game in order to protect their home field.
"They're 2-3, but they've lost to three quality opponents," Dykes told reporters about Colorado. "...Very good football team, lots of team speed, lots of playmakers on both sides of the football... A good football team that's, like I said, kind of on the verge of breaking through, and just haven't been able to make plays down the stretch maybe to win a couple of games that were really close."
It's certainly no consolation for Colorado fans, but Dykes is also correct in his assessment. Two of Colorado's three games were 50-50 games that the Buffs came up short in. The other was a road loss to Houston, where, as Dykes also mentioned, the game just kind of got away from the Buffs.
All three of the teams that beat Colorado so far this season are currently undefeated. The Buffaloes probably should have beaten Georgia Tech in the opener. The Yellow Jackets turned it over on their first three possessions, but Colorado only mustered seven points off it. In a seven-point loss, it's hard not to lament those missed opportunities.
And Colorado missed a lot of opportunities against BYU last weekend, too. The three-point loss was 'awkward' according to Deion Sanders, and puts the Buffs in a tough position with seven games left.
Colorado heads to TCU in desperate need of a win to build on
Colorado's two wins this season have come against Group of Five opponents in Delaware and Wyoming. Colorado may be 'close,' but they are running out of time to get over the hump. They need a quality win to build some belief back in the locker room.
This weekend will mark the official halfway point of the regular season, and if Coach Prime wants his team to have a shot at making a bowl game, they can't afford to be 2-4 through six games. Not with a schedule that still features Top 25 home games against Iowa State and Arizona State, and road games at Utah, West Virginia, and Kansas State.
There are no easy games remaining on the schedule. Every game from here on out is losable. We know Colorado can compete with the best teams in this league - they showed it against BYU last weekend. But they better start winning some games - quickly - or this season threatens to go completely off the rails.