Year Two of the Deion Sanders Era in Boulder kicks off in late August, with the Colorado Buffaloes looking to turn the corner by returning to their old stomping grounds.
The Buffs reenter the Big 12, where they previously were members from 1948 to 2010, looking to win six or more games in a season for the first time since going 10-4 under coach Mike MacIntyre in 2016.
In the interim, CU has gone 28-50 (.359), including last year’s 4-8 campaign in Sanders’ first year. CU was the darlings of the college football world and Colorado sportsbooks after beating TCU, Nebraska and Colorado State before crashing back to earth with a vengeance.
At the moment, Prime and the Buffs’ have the 117th-ranked recruiting class in the nation (per 247 Sports), which underlies the hurdles remaining for CU to return to the sport’s marquee level in the year ahead. To get a sense of where CU ranks among their newfound conference rivals, BetColorado.com averaged out the Buffs’ 247 recruiting class rankings between 2020 and 2024.
For those looking even further ahead than the 2024 season, BetColorado.com has also compiled future Deion Sanders odds.
Big 12 Average Recruiting Ranking Since 2020
CO sports betting apps list Georgia as the favorite for next year’s national championship at +360.
CU Recruiting Lagging Over Last 5 Years
Oddsmakers at Bet365 Colorado give CU a win total over/under of 4.5 for 2024. If CU can hit five wins this fall, it would mark the first time the Buffs’ have done so since posting three straight 5-7 seasons from 2017-2019.
Of the 16 teams that constitute the new Big 12, Colorado’s average recruiting class ranking of 56.6 is 13th overall, sandwiched between No. 12 Arizona State (55.4) and No. 14 BYU (65.6). Leaguewide, TCU (34.8) and Utah (36.6) are the only two schools to average a rank under 40. Of the Pac-12 exiles that make up the expanded Big 12, CU’s 56.6 figure ranks fourth, behind the Utes, Arizona (50.6) and the Sun Devils (55.4).
The Buffs’ enter the offseason with +20000 national championship odds at BetRivers Colorado. Sanders and his players will have to hit the ground running to exceed their win total from 2023, with non-conference clashes against FCS power North Dakota State (Aug. 31 at Folsom Field), Nebraska (in Lincoln on Sept. 7) and Colorado State (in Fort Collins on Sept. 14), before opening Big 12 play against Baylor at home on Sept. 21.
