Grading Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes After a Shaky First Half

With much of it being their own doing, little has gone the Colorado Buffaloes' way through six games.

Colorado is now sitting 2-4 (0-3 Big 12) after falling to the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, marking a new low in an already difficult season. Consistency has been a major issue for coach Deion Sanders' team, and only six regular season games remain to get things figured out.

Below is our midseason report card for the 2025 Buffs:

Offense: C

Midseason Report Card Grading Colorado Buffaloes First Six Games Deion Sanders Kaidon Salter Tawfiq Byard Pat Shurmur Boulder — Oct 4, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Kaidon Salter (3) throws downfield against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Looking first at the positives, Colorado's run game has improved and the offensive line play has quietly been a strength of this struggling team. Left tackle Jordan Seaton is looking more and more like a future first-round NFL Draft pick, and his fellow linemen have also helped keep quarterback Kaidon Salter upright.

Salter has showed spurts of good, but inconsistent play and far too many mistakes from Colorado's primary starting quarterback has limited this offense. Saturday's loss to the TCU Horned Frogs summed up Salter's season well, as two early touchdown drives were ultimately masked by a career-high three interceptions.

"I want them to play like their life is on the line, like their careers are on the line, like the payment for a car is on the line, the payment for a home is on the line, like they have children depending on them — some do," coach Deion Sanders said. "I just want them to play with full intensity and passion."

Defense: C+

Admittedly, Colorado's defense has taken great strides in the past two weeks against BYU and TCU. The Buffs have stopped the run better, and besides a few ill-timed penalties, they've also performed well enough in pass coverage. Through six games, safety Tawfiq Byard has been a welcome addition, but he'll need others to step up as well.

Poor play from Colorado's linebackers and its No. 2 cornerback have been the biggest issues. Neither Martavius French nor Reggie Hughes has impressed at linebackers, and cornerbacks Makari Vickers and Teon Parks also have plenty to figure out.

Special Teams: A-

Special teams has been far and away the brightest aspect of the 2025 Buffs. Placekicker Buck Buchanan is a touchback machine, punter Damon Greaves has 10 punts inside the 20, and Alejandro Mata has missed just one of his 23 field goals/extra points.

Colorado's punt units had a rough game against TCU, however. Greaves averaged just 32.5 yards on four punts, and the Horned Frogs recovered a fourth quarter punt that hit an unknowing Kam Mikell.

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MORE: What Deion Sanders Said After Colorado Buffaloes' Disappointing Loss To TCU Horned Frogs

Coaching: C+

Coaching is the most difficult area to grade because most of it occurs behind the scenes. Still, based on what's seen during games and a few concerning comments from coach Deion Sanders, Colorado's NFL-laden staff deserves some blame for the Buffs' poor start.

"The coaching staff, and I'm challenging them right now to figure this thing out, and let's prayerfully understand that we are so much better in the second halves than what we're showing," Sanders said after losing to TCU, per BuffsTV.

Offensive line coaches Gunnar White, George Hegamin and Andre Gurode, running backs coach Marshall Faulk and defensive line coach Domata Peko have all been bright spots on Sanders' staff.