What happened to Colorado football?

Quick Scoop

Colorado football has swung from a breakout year into a reset. After the buzz around Deion Sanders brought national attention, the program took a step back in 2025, finishing 3-9 overall and 1-8 in Big 12 play, with major roster turnover and staff changes shaping the latest story line.

What changed

• The stars left. Colorado lost Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders to the NFL, and that removed two of the biggest reasons the team was so visible and dangerous.
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• The results slipped. The Buffaloes dropped from a 9-4 season in 2024 to 3-9 in 2025, and the offense and defense both regressed.
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• The roster is being rebuilt. Recent coverage shows Colorado leaning hard on the transfer portal again, adding multiple players while also losing contributors, which makes the program feel like a constant rebuild rather than a finished product.
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• The staff is also changing. Reports in early 2026 say the coaching staff has seen turnover, including Domata Peko’s departure to the NFL.
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Why people are talking about it

Colorado became one of college football’s biggest trend stories because of Coach Prime’s arrival, the celebrity factor, and the rapid rise from 1-11 in 2023 to a much better 2024 season. The problem is that the follow-up season exposed how much the team depended on a few elite players and how thin the depth still was underneath.

Forum vibe

Fans on Colorado message boards are actively discussing coaching, roster moves, and whether the program can stabilize after the recent slide.

Bottom line

So, what happened to Colorado football? The short version is: the hype was real, the peak arrived fast, and then the team had to survive major departures, portal churn, and a rough 2025 season. The next chapter depends on whether the rebuild can turn all that attention into depth and consistency.

TL;DR: Colorado football went from breakout buzz to a rebuilding phase after losing key stars, finishing 3-9 in 2025, and cycling through more roster and staff changes.