Colorado Aiming Snap Two-Decade Long Drought This Upcoming Season

The Colorado Buffaloes are in a category by themselves when it comes to winning bowl games.

Nov 29, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Colorado Buffaloes are in a category by themselves when it comes to bowl game wins in the College Football Playoff era. 

Colorado Buffaloes Seeking to Snap Bowl Game Win Drought

Oct 25, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on during a time out in the game against the Utah Utes during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Colorado is the only power four conference team (Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, ACC) that has yet to win a bowl game since the playoff format in college football started back in 2014. The Buffs have only appeared in three bowl games over this time span, losing all of them. All three of these losses were in the Alamo Bowl. 

2016: Lost to Oklahoma State Cowboys in Alamo Bowl
2020: Lost to Texas Longhorns in Alamo Bowl
2024: Lost to BYU Cougars in Alamo Bowl

This is a not a good streak going in Bouder and it actually dates back to the middle of the BCS era of college football. The last bowl game win for the Buffs was in the 2004 Houston Bowl against the Utep Miners. That’s over two decades without a bowl game win and a bowl game record of 0-5. 

Will coach Deion Sanders be able to end this drought in 2026?

Colorado Buffaloes Under Coach Deion Sanders

Dec 28, 2024; San Antonio, TX, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks on the field between plays during the first quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Deion Sanders is entering his fourth season as coach in Boulder. There have been highs and lows in the “Coach Prime” era. He was hired by Colorado right after a 1-11 2022 season. In year one for Sanders in 2023, Colorado improved. They went 4-8 and were one of the most talked about and watched teams in the country. That continued in 2024, but even more wins followed this time.

The Buffs took a major leap forward in the 2024 season. They won nine games in the regular season, finishing tied a top the Big 12. Due to tiebreakers, they did not play in the Big 12 championship and ended up earning a berth in the Alamo Bowl, where they lost to BYU. 

2025 was the complete opposite of 2024. Colorado went 3-9, winning just one game in Big 12 conference play. They failed to make a bowl game for the second time in three seasons under Sanders. 

Nov 22, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

There were many changes made to the team across the board, such as adding 43 incoming transfers and making drastic coaching changes. 

The Buffs will have a new offensive and defensive coordinator next season. On the offensive side of the ball, they will be led by offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. Marion was previously the head coach of the Sacramento State Hornets. He led them to a 7-5 record in his lone year there in 2025. The Hornets offense averaged 33.8 points. 

On defense, the Buffs promoted linebackers coach Chris Marve to defensive coordinator. Marve was hired earlier in the offseason as the team’s linebackers coach, but was quickly promoted after the departure of former Colorado defensive coordinator Robert Livingston. Livingston accepted a position with the Denver Broncos to be their defensive pass game coordinator. 

Prior to Colorado, Marve was the defensive coordinator for the Virginia Tech Hokies from 2022-2024. 

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