Top Five Colorado Buffaloes Games In Deion Sanders Era

Throughout Deion Sanders' time as the leading the Colorado Buffaloes, the team has experienced inconsistent success with just one winning season over the past three years. However, there have been plenty of games that have captured the attention of the college football world.

So, here are the top five games that Sanders has coached at Colorado since he became the head coach for the 2023 season.

Top Five Colorado Buffaloes Games Deion Sanders Era TCU Baylor, Colorado State USC Iowa State Shedeur Sanders Travis Hunter — Sep 2, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs the ball against TCU Horned Frogs safety Josh Foster (15) in the first quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Sept. 2, 2023: Colorado 45, TCU 42

The first game on this list is, interestingly enough, Coach Prime’s first game as the head coach at Colorado when the Buffaloes matched up with the TCU Horned Frogs on the road following TCU’s run to the national championship.

In this game, Colorado was able to pull out a tight victory, 45-42, over TCU behind great performances from both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.

Shedeur threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns while completing 38/47 passes. Hunter had a tremendous performance as well, totaling 11 catches for 119 yards on offense in addition to getting an interception on defense, which allowed him to stamp his impact on this game on both sides of the ball.

For Colorado, having a performance like this in Coach Prime’s first game as the head coach was huge and also showed that both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter could compete at the FBS level with great success.

Sept. 21, 2024: Colorado 38, Baylor 31

In the 2024 season, Coach Prime and the Buffaloes had an early-season road matchup with the Baylor Bears to start Big 12 conference play, and it did not disappoint.

Sheduer and Hunter both put on excellent performances once again and gave Baylor problems all game. Sheduer threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns, with his second touchdown coming on a Hail Mary caught by Jimmy Horn Jr. to send the game to overtime. Hunter also made a major impact as he had seven receptions for 130 yards in addition to being consistent in coverage and doing all he could to limit the Baylor passing attack.

In overtime, running back Micah Welch was able to run in the final score to give the Buffaloes the lead. On Baylor’s final possession, running back Dominic Richardson fumbled near the goal line and ended the game, giving Colorado its first conference win in 2024 by a score of 38-31 over Baylor.

This win against Baylor catapulted Colorado into the best season under Coach Prime so far and led to a 9-4 campaign and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl.

Sept. 18, 2023: Colorado 43, Colorado State 35

Another game from the 2023 season, the Buffaloes matched up with their in-state rival, Colorado State Rams, in a game that ended with a 43-35 road win for Coach Prime and Colorado.

In this game, Shedeur had another great performance, throwing for 348 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception while connecting with a few different receivers, including Xavier Weaver (nine catches for 98 yards and one touchdown), Michael Harrison (seven catches for 76 yards and two touchjdowms in cludeing te game winner), and Jimmy Horn Jr. (seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown).

The one difference about this game was the fact that Hunter had a minimal impact, mainly because he was hit with an illegal hit that took him out of the game and held him out of several weeks of the season.

Even though the Buffaloes were missing Hunter, Colorado was able to work together and pull off a victory against rival Colorado State, which showed that even through adversity in a rivalry game without one of their two best players, Coach Prime’s squad can overcome a tough situation.

Sept. 30, 2023: USC 48, Colorado 41

Later that same season, the Buffaloes had a big-time matchup against the USC Trojans, where it seemed that Colorado was trailing 34-14 at halftime.

However, Shedeur had another great performance, throwing for 371 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, and helped the Buffaloes to climb back and cut the lead to seven with 1:43 left in the game. Wide receiver Omarion Miller stepped up in a major way as he totaled seven receptions for 193 yards and one touchdown as the Buffaloes' best receiver all day long.

Even with the strong second-half effort, Colorado was unable to get a stop on defense, which resulted in a 48-41 loss. While the result was disappointing for the Buffaloes, it did show that Colorado has the talent to compete with some of the stronger teams in conferences like the Big Ten if a few key improvements were made.

Oct. 11, 2025: Colorado 24, Iowa State 17

The final game on this list is the Buffaloes' upset win over the Iowa State Cyclones at Folsom Field this past season.

In this Big 12 matchup, Colorado’s offense had one of its better performances of the season as quarterback Kaidon Salter threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, with wide receiver Joseph Williams being the top contributor as he recorded 8 receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown.

The defense also did a great job, holding Iowa State to seven points for the whole second half and got a crucial stop in the fourth quarter to give Colorado’s offense the ball back. Following that stop, the Buffaloes' offense ran out the clock, which ended the game and gave Colorado a 24-17 win over the Cyclones.

With this win, Coach Prime was able to get the best out of his team and get a solid team win in conference play. While the 2025 season did not go as Colorado hoped it would, this win against Iowa State was definitely a bright spot.

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