It has been only about 16 months since Deion Sanders, on the heels of a return-to-glory season at Colorado, signed the most lucrative head coach contract in the history of Buffaloes football.
Read more Denver hits record-breaking 100 degrees Saturday, more triple-degree heat forecast Sunday
Maintaining that brief flicker of resurrected glory has been a challenge ever since.
A year ago, in the wake of Sanders signing a $54 million extension that runs through the 2029 season, CU’s leader spent the bulk of the summer at home, recovering from bladder cancer. Sanders later admitted his attention to detail during the offseason recruiting cycle, particularly through the transfer portal, was askew. It later showed on the field, as the Buffs stumbled to a 3-9 mark.
Sanders is healthy now, and if the 2025 season resulted in a sort of mulligan for Sanders due to his medical issues, the 2026 campaign offers an opportunity for Sanders to prove his coaching mettle — especially since the man who hired Sanders and handed him that extension, Rick George, has since been replaced as Colorado’s athletic director by Fernando Lovo.
The 2024 season that ended with a 9-4 mark, spurred Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, has been bookended by seasons that saw the Buffs go a combined 7-17 with a 2-16 mark in conference play. With CU a week away from opening its fourth preseason under Sanders, on Aug. 2 in Colorado Springs, here is a look at the three most pressing preseason questions for the Buffs to address ahead of the Sept. 3 season opener at Georgia Tech.
Will the coaching staff live up to the Prime hype?
Earlier this month, during the Big 12 Conference media days, Sanders lauded the latest version of his coaching staff, declaring, “I keep saying this is the best staff I’ve ever had in my life.”
High praise, but they were compliments not entirely unprecedented during the staff carousel of Sanders’ tenure. At CU’s preseason media day in 2023, ahead of his first season, Sanders said of his staff, “I think the best thing we’ve put together has been our staff. These guys are really good from top to bottom. The coordinators, it speaks volumes. The staff is really good.”
Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis didn’t last the season as CU’s play-caller, and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly left after the season.
In 2024, with Pat Shurmur running the offense and Robert Livingston the defense, Sanders said at CU’s media day, “I feel so much better about the team, not only because of the young men we’ve accumulated inside this locker room, but also the staff and how they’re working together. The coordinators are phenomenal.”
Things clicked as the Buffs went 9-4 and reached the Alamo Bowl, but neither Shurmur nor Livingston appeared to have any answers last year without NFL-caliber talent to lean upon on both sides of the ball.
Read more Body found in tunnel under I-25 after fire in Adams County
This time around, it’s Brennan Marion (offense) and Chris Marve (defense) taking over the coordinator roles. Granted, staff stability has probably become an overrated concept in an era of annual roster turnover, and the Buffs actually boast a number of returning coaches after the first-year coordinators. Yet the ability of Sanders’ staff to stay on the same page through 12 games will be critical for a team expecting big results from transfers eager to prove themselves.
Will the Buffs’ attack ‘go-go’ under Julian Lewis?
There are plenty of question marks across the Buffaloes’ lineup. None of them are as important as how well second-year quarterback Julian Lewis takes to Marion’s Go-Go offense.
Lewis did enough last year to tease the talent that made him a five-star recruit, but fell short of stirring heightened expectations after going 52-for-94 (55.3%) with 589 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. Lewis has not yet been anointed the starter, and he spent much of the spring splitting time with Utah transfer Isaac Wilson. But unless Wilson steps in and turns in a magic run to all-Big 12 honors, not seeing Lewis running the show when the Buffs kick off against Georgia Tech will be viewed as a disappointment.
Lewis took some flak from his admission during Big 12 media days that he essentially was told last year to just go out and play, as opposed to saddling his instincts with a constant array of complicated reads. Given Lewis’ age — last year was supposed to be his senior year of high school — it was a reasonable approach when he was thrust into the spotlight to replace a faltering Kaidon Salter.
Yet Lewis won’t have that luxury this year. Marion’s attack requires the quarterback to be sharp on run-pass options, while also making smart decisions in a vertical passing attack. As has typically been the case under Sanders, the Buffs should boast ample talent at the offensive skill positions. But the Buffs will only go-go as far as Lewis’ mastery of the new system takes them.
Will Marve’s defense be marvelous?
The Buffs probably don’t need the defense to be among the Big 12’s elite. Simple efficiency will be welcome after the bottom dropped out for CU’s defense.
In Big 12 games, the Buffs ranked 14th in total defense (433.6), 15th in scoring defense (34.7), 14th in sacks (nine) and last in rushing defense (233.4). Marve didn’t coach in 2025, but he previously enjoyed a solid three-year run as the defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, with his teams surrendering an average of 25 points in all three seasons.
An entirely new personnel group will attempt to pull the Buffs out of last year’s defensive doldrums. It will be up to Marve to find the right combos and push the right buttons.
Read more 4th firefighter dies from injuries suffered in burnover incident on Colorado’s Western Slope
