Colorado Buffaloes playoff projections: 3 reasons why Deion Sanders fail in his Big 12 debut
In a program surrounded by hype and optimism, plenty of people aside from Deion Sanders are pushing the Colorado Buffaloes playoff projections. But it's an open question whether Coach Prime is ready for the Big 12.
For that matter, after an uneven 4–8 season last year, it's fair to wonder if Colorado is moving up or down. Here are three reasons why the Colorado Buffaloes will struggle.
Colorado Buffaloes playoff projections: 3 reasons why Colorado struggles in 2024
1. Forget the transfer portal; it's a waiver wire in Colorado.
College football is in a brave new world with the transfer portal. Even the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world avail themselves of the chance to add talent and let underwhelming players move along. But nobody has lived in the portal quite like Colorado.
Deion Sanders's team has the most incoming and outgoing players in the nation, and it's not particularly close. Particularly with a new coach and a new system, there are some inevitable transfer possibilities. But Colorado has basically stripped its program of continuity and that makes the climb even more challenging.
2. Colorado had possibly the worst offensive line in the nation in 2023.
Colorado Buffaloes playoff hopes are nearly as vulnerable as a Colorado ball carrier. Last season, Colorado carried for only 69 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry. To make matters worse, the Colorado offensive line allowed a whopping 56 sacks. That is one more than the previous two seasons combined.
The ground game literally cannot help but be better this season, but if the Buffaloes don't stumble onto a completely different offensive line, Shedeur Sanders will spend the season scrambling for his life.
Good football teams don't improvise on the offensive line; they dominate there. Colorado was hopeless a year ago and hasn't had enough influx to change things up completely.
3. A massive defensive question mark
Colorado allowed 34.8 points and 453 yards per game last year. Those aren't playoff numbers. In 11 of 12 games last season, Colorado allowed either 300 yards passing or 200 yards rushing. Even with a potent passing game, Colorado can't win every game in the Big 12 by a shootout.
Colorado plays a schedule that includes probably the best running back in college football (Ollie Gordon at Oklahoma State). It also includes a couple of the sport's most highly regarded passers (Cam Rising and Noah Fifita, among others). Colorado doesn't have the defensive chops to keep up with the Big 12, or probably any other league.
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