2025 Colorado Football Predictions: Buffaloes Ranked 25th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
Published
Aug. 10, 2025 8:05 p.m. ET
share
x
link
This isn't your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
Who do I think is good?
Why do I think they're good?
What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where Colorado lands in my Ultimate 136.
Colorado Buffaloes ranking: 25
Last year's ranking: 41
Top player: OT Jordan Seaton: First true freshman ever to start at offensive tackle in the season opener at Colorado, and the first in the Big 12 since Kelvin Banks in 2022; in 612 pass-blocking snaps, only allowed 3 sacks.
[Colorado's 2025 schedule]
RJ's take: Deion Sanders has his QB of the present and of the future in former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter and five-star freshman Julian Lewis, respectively. While the void left by QB Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Travis Hunter is sizable, few have pillaged the portal for players who can perform like Prime.
ADVERTISEMENT
Those two players, Sanders and Hunter, deserve credit for leading CU to a nine-win season, finishing tied atop the Big 12 Conference regular-season standings and earning an invitation to the Alamo Bowl. But it's Coach Prime that still, somehow, doesn't get enough due.
Last year, Colorado won nine games without the presence of a run game as it was ranked dead last in the FBS in rushing yards per game. The only team to pull off a feat like that was Michigan, who played most of 2024 with just enough quarterback play to qualify as one that discovered the invention of the forward pass. He's since added Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk to his staff as running backs coach, Byron Leftwich to coach QBs and Warren Sapp to coach the defensive line.
With Salter as the penciled starter, they'll run the ball better because he's the guy at QB and his legs can fix a lot of broken plays in what has been a pass-happy offense from coordinator Pat Shurmur. Salter rushed for over 2,000 yards and 21 TDs at Liberty. If a running back or two — like Dallan Hayden or Micah Welch — breaks loose, CU could actually be balanced in its offensive attack. In 2024, it didn't have to be. It just had to show a pulse. CU was 8-0 when it rushed for 50 yards or more and 9-1 when it averaged just 1 yard per rush. Fall forward, fellas.
But Hunter's 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns and LaJohntay Wester's 74 catches for 931 yards with 10 touchdowns will be a group effort to make up. Omarion Miller, Dre'lon Miller, Florida State transfer Hykeem Williams, Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams and FCS Campbell transfer Sincere Brown will have to try. Brown caught 61 passes for 1,028 yards for the Camels last year and might be an emerging star for Colorado.
Alabama transfer Jaheim Oatis figures to play an important role in replacing B.J. Green's production on the defensive line. Linebacker Arden Walker stepped up last year with 4.5 sacks. Carter Stoutmire and DJ McKinney form a secondary that should give defensive coordinator Robert Livingston everything he needs to be competitive in 2025.
The schedule features just three preseason top 25 opponents — Kansas State, Arizona State, Iowa State — but a lot of conclusions will be drawn from how the Buffaloes open against Georgia Tech.
[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]
Colorado Buffaloes Win Total: Over 5.5. (-120) Under (-102)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
FOLLOW
Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience
College Football
Colorado Buffaloes
share
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
From NFL stars to HBCU head coaches: Vick and Jackson on same path as they briefly reunite in Philly
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Vick tossed the ball to DeSean Jackson at much shorter distances than, say, the time the former Eagles connected on an 88-yard touchdown pass in 2010. Wearing a green polo shirt and cap, Vick still had some zip on the left arm. Jackson laughed as he made a few short runs before he had to change out of a white T-shirt and into a sports coat. The kind of outfit needed at a news conference for a head coach. Vick and Jackson haven't played for the Eagles in more than a decade but the two franchise greats felt every bit at home Tuesday at their old stomping ground at the team's complex. The duo have now graduated into becoming rookie head coaches at HBCU schools; Vick at Norfolk State and Jackson at Delaware State out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They are the kind of football programs and a conference that would never have such a major platform in the regular season as the one they will boast when Vick and Jackson go head-to-head (well, the teams will) on Oct. 30 at Lincoln Financial Field — the home of the Super Bowl champs. 'The Linc gets crazy already,' Jackson said. 'Now you've got two legends. It's going to be hype.' Vick, who played quarterback, and Jackson, who was a receiver, each hope to add one more signature moment as coaches in Philadelphia after a career full of them during successful tenures with the Eagles (as well as other stops in the NFL). 'There are a lot of things we could be doing,' Vick said. 'But we chose to go down this route.' Neither Vick nor Jackson have coaching experience but they are just the latest former NFL stars who had not coached before taking the helm at an HBCU program, a club that includes Deion Sanders and Eddie George. Norfolk State has made only one playoff appearance since moving to FCS in 1997. The last five Spartan head coaches have had losing records, including Dawson Odoms, who was fired in November after going 15-30 in four seasons. Jackson replaced Lee Hull after the Hornets went 1-11 last season. Sanders eventually jumped from an HBCU program to a Big 12 team in Colorado. He led Colorado to a 9-4 record last season and earned a spot in the Alamo Bowl. 'Without Deion's success, our success would never be presented to us,' Jackson said. 'When I had an opportunity to be in this role, in this seat, I reached out to him. I never thought I would be a coach. I'm just going to be real. All those years I played, I seen how much time the coaches spent in the building. After practice, meetings.' Vick actually approached Jackson about joining his coaching staff at Norfolk State. Jackson considered the opportunity but jumped at his own chance to run a program. 'The kids and the youth are something that we really pour into,' Jackson said. 'To have all the information and the knowledge we have, it would be selfish for us not to give back to these young men that are trying to get somewhere in life.' Vick said he always wanted to coach and spent most of the last few years coaching his daughter's flag football team. Vick — who earned a second chance in Philadelphia after his NFL career with Atlanta was derailed by his conviction in 2007 for his involvement in a dogfighting ring — had run football camps since he was a rookie with the Falcons. 'Every time I have a camp, I feel bad when I leave, I feel bad when the kid goes on to get other coaching,' Vick said. 'It was always in me to be with a group of young men, to develop them, see how they transition over a three-month period, a six-month period, a 12-month period.' 'Hopefully, I won't say hopefully,' Vick said, 'it will be a success.' ___
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
School district in Colorado to use metal detectors at stadium events, enacts clear bag policy
The Douglas County School District in Colorado is putting new policies into place when it comes to stadium events. This includes using metal detectors and having a clear bag policy, among other changes that begin this school year. The school district said it has purchased portable metal detectors to use at stadiums. DCSD said in a news release that the metal detectors are a pilot program "as part of its efforts to enhance safety and security at our stadium, particularly for our most highly-attended events." The clear bag policy allows only clear plastic bags in DCSD stadiums with a size limit. There will also be a no re-entry policy for those who choose to leave stadium events, as well as no outside food or drink allowed in the stadium. The policy also includes no drugs, alcohol or tobacco products, no pets, or weapons allowed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NFL preseason: Parsing through overreactions to Week 1's storylines, starting with Shedeur Sanders
The first week of the NFL preseason is in the books, leading to a slew of rational, not-insane-at-all opinions as people get their first taste of football this season. There are a lot of things causing people to have wild overreactions to the first week of the preseason, but we all already know where an overreactions piece on the NFL has to start. Let the process play out with Shedeur Sanders Shedeur Sanders had a good start to his rookie year with a solid showing against the Panthers in his first preseason game. Sanders played the bulk of the snaps in the game, throwing two touchdowns and having some other nice throws. It wasn't a perfect game from him and he definitely needs to continue to adjust to the speed of the NFL, but it did show that he deserves a real chance to compete for a roster spot as the Browns make some tough decisions as to how many quarterbacks they carry on the roster this season. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] That's all it really has to be. However, now there's people saying (of course) Shedeur Sanders should be getting to practice with the first-team offense for the Browns. All of sudden, two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski is some clueless bum who doesn't know how to run his team. In the name of a fifth-round quarterback. Now, Sanders very well might not be the worst quarterback on the team — third-round pick Dillon Gabriel has yet to make his preseason debut — but he still has a ways to go before he cements his roster spot. Just take the positives as they come and remember, the preseason is a different ball game. A couple of years ago, current Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett lit up the preseason causing people to buy in on his prospect as a potential star quarterback. Now, he's in the same battle for his career as Sanders. Be easy, remember the preseason is the preseason. Let the process play out. Anthony Richardson isn't doomed just yet Hey, not a great start for a guy trying to salvage his career as a starting quarterback and former first-round pick. Anthony Richardson's attempt to continue being the starting quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts got off to a horrible start when he was knocked out of their preseason opener after taking a big hit from Ravens pass rusher David Ojabo on a protection bust between himself and the offensive line. There have been a bunch of reactions surrounding the hit, namely that this is just another piece of data that suggests Richardson is not ready for the opportunity that has been placed in front of him. Daniel Jones will start the next preseason game, but that was planned even before Richardson was hurt. While this definitely does hurt his chances to be the opening day starter for the Colts, it doesn't mean that the book is necessarily closed. The best chance for head coach Shane Steichen and others to keep their job is still Richardson becoming the quarterback that they hoped they were getting back in 2023. He is still fairly far away from that goal, but it doesn't mean that all hope is lost. There's still time to learn and his competition for the job isn't exactly fierce with Jones being his primary opposition. Again, just take these things day by day in the preseason. There's not much correlation here in regard to regular season success. Jets look to be buying in Perhaps this is a reminder to myself to not overreact to stuff, but it looks like Aaron Glenn is really starting to figure things out with the Jets already. For a team that looked so unbelievably lifeless toward the end of last season, it was incredible to see the fire and physicality that they played with in their preseason opener. They had a strong performance from the offensive line, had some great performances from a couple running backs and Justin Fields was able to make a couple big plays to inspire confidence. On the other side of the field, the Jets' first-team defense was flying around with Sauce Gardner making some of the best plays that he has in a year. Their first preseason game was a reminder that the Jets, for all their faults last year, are not a team that has no talent to speak of. They look like they'll be a tough out for a lot of teams this year, but, like I've said in the first couple sections, it's just the first week of the preseason. Cam Ward looks like the real deal The last one will be another reminder to myself that the preseason is just the preseason, but the oft-forgotten first overall pick, Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans, will be making his NFL debut this year and looks like he can take this offense to a more credible level than where they were last year. Ward looked comfortable operating the offense and let it rip a couple times into tight coverage. He showed off his trademark playmaking ability out of the pocket and was generally more competent than anything the Titans have had under center in a long time. Now, there's still a ways to go until Ward can be considered a bonafide franchise quarterback, but his Titans debut certainly showed the framework is there.
