Colorado’s Deion Sanders future explained amid 3-6 start, ‘average’ recruiting

Deion Sanders‘ Colorado future is in question amid ongoing health concerns and a 3-6 start to the coach’s third season. The Buffaloes have been outscored 105-24 in their past two games, falling 53-7 at Utah and 52-17 against Arizona. It is just the second time in the past decade that Colorado has lost consecutive games by five touchdowns or more, joining the 1-11 squad from 2022. CBS Sports‘ College Football Insiders offered the latest insights on Sanders’ future with the Buffs during Monday’s episode ,and whether his tenure in Boulder, Colorado, can still be salvaged.

“This level of bad is actually pretty unusual in Colorado history,” said Shehan Jeyarajah. “They’ve only lost consecutive games by five touchdowns twice in the last decade.”

Colorado was 4-5 through its first nine games in 2023 — Sanders’ first season — and started 2024 at 8-2 before finishing 9-4. The Buffaloes ranked Nos. 31 and 42 nationally, respectively, in scoring offense and defense last year. This year, they have plummeted to Nos. 110 and 107.

“In the first half of their past two games, they’ve been outscored 81-7,” Jeyarajah said. “Utah is good, but Arizona is not the type of team that should be putting you into the ground that early.”

Sanders has drawn criticism for skipping in-home recruiting visits, instead preferring that recruits come to Colorado’s campus. Colorado signed the No. 38 class in 2025 and currently sits at No. 69 for 2026.

“Colorado’s 2026 class is average,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy said Tuesday on CBS Sports HQ.