Colorado's Ranking Among Oldest Rosters in Big 12

The Colorado Buffaloes enter the 2026 college football season looking to bounce back from a three-win 2025. Colorado has a new-look roster with much of the team different from last year.

How old is Colorado’s roster compared to the rest of the Big 12?

Colorado Tied as Third Oldest Team in Big 12

colorado buffaloes deion sanders coach prime big 12 conference rankings average age roster betting odds championship — Jul 7, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis speaks with reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

RotoWire revealed the average age of every college football team in the country for the 2026 season. The Buffs are on the older side, with an average age of 20.63 years old. This is tied for 16th oldest team in the country along with Kansas Jayhawks and Virginia Cavaliers.

When it comes to just the Big 12, Colorado is tied for having the third oldest team in the conference with the Kansas Jayhawks. Here is RotoWire’s full Big 12 average roster age rankings:

1. Oklahoma State Cowboys
2. UCF Knights
T3. Colorado Buffaloes
T3. Kansas Jayhawks
5. Baylor Bears
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders
7. Arizona Wildcats
8. Iowa State Cyclones
9. BYU Cougars
10. Kansas State Wildcats
11. Utah Utes
12. Arizona State Sun Devils
13. Houston Cougars
14. Cincinnati Bearcats
15. TCU Horned Frogs
16. West Virginia Mountaineers

One of the large reasons for Colorado being near the top of the oldest average player age ranking in the Big 12 is their aggressiveness in the transfer portal. Much of Colorado’s 2026 roster is made up of incoming players from the portal, while they are on the lower end of amount of incoming high school recruits. This means they don’t have as many true freshman as other schools.

The Buffs 2026 high school recruiting class consists of 21 commits. On the other hand in the portal, Colorado has 43 incoming transfers.

Does Older/Younger Mean Better?

In college football, the average ages between most teams is very similar. Even just looking at the Big 12, the team with the oldest roster is Oklahoma State, with an average age of 20.75 years old. This is due to them completely re-hauling their roster in the portal due to getting a new head coach this offseason.

The youngest team in the Big 12 is West Virginia, with an average age of 20.19 years old. That’s only a difference of 0.56 years between the top and bottom spot.

Zooming out on the Big 12 and who is projected to be competing for the league title, the age rankings don't appear to be a big factor. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Texas Tech is the clear favorite to win the Big 12 with odds of -105. They have the sixth oldest roster at 20.50 years old.

The second best odds go to BYU at +550. The Cougars are the ninth oldest team in the Big 12. The third best odds is Utah at +650. They are the 11th oldest team in the league. This goes to show that for at least the Big 12, being on either the older or younger end isn’t necessarily a benefit.

However, the season has to play out. Could a team at the bottom or top of the list shock the college football world and win the Big 12?

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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