Santana Hopper's Confidence in Colorado Speaks Volumes About Buffaloes Defense

Santana Hopper breaks down how the Colorado Buffaloes will utilize their bye week after being one of their defensive bright spots in Week 5.

Sep 26, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on during the second half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Colorado Buffaloes’ Week 6 bye will be one of reflection and correction for many players on the roster as they look to recover from their 29-7 loss to the then-No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders in Week 5.

The Buffaloes’ next test will be against the No. 12 Utah Utes in Week 7, and the defense will be a key factor to any hopes they have of winning. One of leaders of that defense, defensive lineman Santana Hopper, broke down how Colorado can rebound during its bye week.

Santana Hopper planning to build on a good performance

Sep 12, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes defensive lineman Santana Hopper (97) tackles Weber State Wildcats quarterback Nate Dahle (13) in the first quarter at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hopper was certainly not the reason for Colorado’s loss in Week 5, as he had a career game. He racked up 10 total tackles, six of which were unassisted, in addition to 5.5 tackles for loss. He was a game wrecker in the backfield and disrupted the Red Raiders’ run game throughout the night.

While the loss still stung, he feels like he can build on that strong performance during the bye week.

“My mentality is to flush this loss,” Hopper said postgame. “I did have a decent game today, and I just want to flush it. [A good performance] doesn’t matter if you lose. So I’m going to flush this and get it out of the way. We’ve got people banged up. We need people to get back, be a little more healthy and just get ready for Utah.”

How the Colorado Buffaloes will flush their Week 5 loss

Sep 12, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes defensive lineman Santana Hopper (97) sacks Weber State Wildcat quarterback Nate Dahle (13) in the first half at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But not everyone on the team has such a strong performance to build on. Namely, Colorado’s offense was sluggish throughout the game, and very few players on that side of the ball had the game they expected. 

But this type of adversity is something Colorado has prepared for. The Buffaloes see the bye week as an opportunity to truly clear their heads of Saturday’s ugly loss before preparing for Utah.

“It’s a little hard to go lose and just let something go,” Hopper said. “You’ve always got to take that with a grain of salt, fix what you know you got beat on and stuff like that. So we’ll go watch film, fix what we do on Sunday, probably do some more corrections on Tuesday and after that just flush it, we don’t talk about it, it’s [onto] the next.”

The Colorado Buffaloes can lean on their defense

Sep 26, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts on the sideline against the Baylor Bears during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Buffaloes’ defense was a different story, though, as it proved to be among the best units in the Big 12. The Buffaloes held the Red Raiders’ talented offense to just 15 points until the final 3:09 of the game, which is no easy task considering it averages 34.8 points and 406.4 yards per game.

The Buffaloes’ offensive struggles were ultimately their undoing, though, as they only managed seven points and even gave up a touchdown on a pick-six. 

Despite that, Hopper believes Colorado is capable of riding its defense to win out on its remaining schedule.

“Yes, yes, yes,” said Hopper when asked if Colorado’s defense gives them a shot to win out. “We’re going to get some things fixed on offense and … coach [Chris] Marve preaches about getting takeaways. So we’re going to fix the stuff on offense, start getting more takeaways on defense and hopefully- not even hopefully- we’re going to turn this thing around.”

The Buffaloes will face a currently ranked opponent in three of their next five games, so that will be a tall task. But if Hopper proves to be right against the Utes, anything is possible.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest news.