The Colorado Buffaloes enter the 2026 season with a completely revamped program. New coordinators, coaches, and, most notably, 40-plus transfers have changed the team's outlook.
Many have argued that the current squad is more talented than the 2024 Buffaloes team that won 9 games and had Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter leading the way. Projecting how good this Colorado team will be and where it will be by season's end is one of the more difficult tasks due to the program's newness. Many national outlets have the Buffs as a Big 12 bottom-feeder and predict them to win only three or four games. The internal goals and expectations are much higher, with several coaches and players mentioning during fall camp their hopes to compete for a Big 12 title.
CU begins its 2026 slate with a challenging road game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 3 under the lights in Atlanta. There are some tough stretches, but a six-win, bowl-eligible season seems entirely doable. With only a handful of days remaining before Colorado heads to Atlanta to kick off the season, here are some bold predictions from the Buffaloes Wire staff for Colorado's 2026 season.
Colorado's rushing offense finishes as one of the Big 12's best
Charlie Strella: Under Deion Sanders, Colorado has routinely struggled to produce a consistent running game. Very rarely do the Buffs eclipse 100 rushing yards in a game, making it a challenge to keep the opponent off the field and salt the game away.
Bringing in offensive coordinator Brennan Marion should help in that regard, given his Go-Go offense uses plenty of West Coast concepts that prioritize running the football. While the Buffs might not have a true lead back, they have four capable running backs that all offer slightly different looks.
Colorado will make and win their bowl game
Ariana Pensy: This is technically a two-pronged prediction: first, that the Buffs will qualify for a bowl game, and second, that they will win that bowl game. I have the Buffaloes finishing the year at 6-6, which qualifies them for a bowl game. The second part is more difficult - winning the bowl game. In fact, it is something Colorado has not accomplished since defeating UTEP in the Houston Bowl back in 2004, with Joel Klatt at quarterback. Since then, the Buffaloes have lost five straight bowl games: the Champs Sports Bowl in 2005, the Independence Bowl in 2007 and the Alamo Bowl in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
If they finish 6-6 and end up in a bowl game such as the Cactus Bowl or Independence Bowl, they would play a mediocre Big Ten team (Cactus Bowl) or a Group of Five team (Independence Bowl), which would be winnable and break their streak of losing bowl games.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Bold predictions for Colorado football entering the 2026 season
