Colorado Buffaloes' Difficult Schedule Drawing Attention

After a tough 2025 season, coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are hoping to rebound and have a much better showing in 2026. The one problem is that this schedule Colorado has could make next season very difficult.

Brett McMurphy of On3 ranked the toughest Big 12 schedules for the 2026 season and had the Buffaloes at the No. 1 spot. This ranking is not just because the conference schedule is tough, but also because of the difficult opponents that Colorado has on their non-conference schedule.

The Buffaloes may have the talent to have a great season, but it will not be easy to stack wins against what seems to be one of the hardest schedules in the Big 12.

Colorado May Have Toughest Big 12 Schedule Road Tests Early Big 12 Contenders And Key Matchups Coach Deion Sanders — Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hostile Road Environments Early

The tough schedule for Colorado starts right away in Week 1 as the Buffaloes travel to Atlanta for a road matchup with Georgia Tech. In addition to this trip to Georgia Tech, Colorado also has to travel to Northwestern and Baylor. The only soft spot in this early stretch is a home game against an FCS opponent in Weber State.

When looking at Colorado’s non-conference and conference schedule combined, it is definitely near the top in terms of difficulty as the Buffaloes play 11 Power Four opponents, which is something that no other team in the Big 12 will do, and only four other teams will do across the entire nation.

With this tough stretch, one of the biggest factors to monitor is the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Lewis, who is the projected starter for Colorado as of now. If Colorado does choose to start Lewis, playing at Georgia Tech, Northwestern, and Baylor will be a tough ask but may reveal if Lewis is truly ready for the moment, in addition to seeing if he has grasped the new offense under offensive coordinator Brennan Marion.

If Colorado can get out of this stretch somewhere between 2-2 and 4-0, that would be great news for the Buffaloes with several tough conference games left.

Big 12 Contenders And Key Matchups

In the conference portion of Colorado’s schedule, there are plenty of tests, but also games that the Buffaloes could reasonably win.

Conference play for Colorado includes home games against Texas Tech and Utah with a bye week sandwiched in between, a road visit to Oklahoma State, a home matchup at Folsom Field with Kansas State, a road trip to Arizona State, a home game against Houston, the final road game of the season at Cincinnati, and the regular season concludes with a home game against UCF.

One of the biggest takeaways from this stretch is how important the first two games in October could be. If Colorado has only beaten Weber State heading into October, the games against Texas Tech and Utah become must-win games to get back to .500. In that scenario, if the Buffaloes drop both of those games, they drop to 1-5 and are in danger of having a repeat of last season.

To avoid that, the hope is that Lewis may have the confidence he needs to succeed, but also that the defense under new defensive coordinator Chris Marve can step up and get the stops that the Buffaloes need.

Following the early October stretch, there are a few games that Colorado could have a great chance to win, including matchups with Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Cincinnati, and UCF. These four games may go a long way in determining the Buffaloes' bowl eligibility, and if Colorado can go 3-1 or 4-0 in these games, Coach Prime and the Buffaloes may be in a position to be playing in a bowl game and have one of the more successful seasons in this new era of CU football.

That just leaves the matchups with Arizona State and Houston. Both Arizona State and Houston are programs that have emerged as consistent contenders for the Big 12 title, which could prove to be very difficult matchups for Colorado. However, if the Buffaloes can make a statement by winning at least one of these games, the whole narrative of this season could change, as well as the perception of the football program.

While Colorado’s 2026 schedule does seem daunting, the ability for the Buffaloes to win games here and there, as well as take advantage of certain matchups, could result in Colorado making a bowl game for the second time under Coach Prime and may potentially create even more hype and energy through the transfer portal and high school recruiting for the Buffaloes to build a program that can have sustained success.

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