Head coach Deion Sanders came to Boulder a year ago with high expectations and he delivered instant hope to a moribund Colorado football program.
“All you want is the opportunity to win, to compete, to dominate, to be amongst the elite, to be amongst the best,” Sanders said during his introductory press conference on Dec. 4, 2022. “And darn it, I’m gonna give you that.”
Coach Prime didn’t give CU all of that in Year 1, but he certainly brought some of it and has instilled hope for more in Year 2.
Sanders took over a CU team that went 1-11 in 2022 and probably wasn’t even that good. With an entirely new coaching staff and 87 new players, the 2023 Buffaloes finished 4-8.
The 2022 and 2023 Buffs both finished in the same spot, last in the Pac-12 with matching 1-8 conference records. That’s about the only similarity from last year to this year, though.
Blown out nearly every week in 2022, Sanders delivered more wins this year and much more competitiveness. Five of the eight losses came by seven points or less.
Sanders expected to win more games, but summed up the season well when he said, “We didn’t accomplish what we wanted, but we accomplished what we needed. I think hope is instilled tremendously in this city, in the student body, within this team, within this building, and you see the direction that we’re headed.”
The process of improving for 2024 is underway, but we’ll take a look at Sanders’ first season in Boulder with BuffZone’s final report card and individual awards.
Grades
Offense: We gave the offense a B-plus on the mid-term report card. At that point, seven games into the season, they were averaging 34.4 points per game. It was quite a different story after that. In the last five games, CU averaged 19.4 points and 267.2 yards per game. Looking at the full body of work, the Buffs finished with 28.0 points and 363.6 yards per game. QB Shedeur Sanders set a single-season CU passing record (3,230 yards) and threw 27 touchdowns, just one shy of the record. Receivers Xavier Weaver and Travis Hunter were spectacular and Jimmy Horn Jr. had a good year, too. The run game, however, was underutilized, which contributed to the late-season struggles. Grade: B-minus.
Defense: Unlike the offense, the defense actually got slightly better late in the year. They gave up 35.9 points and 473.7 yards in first seven games. In the last five, they allowed 33.4 points and 424.8 yards, while holding three of the five opponents to 28 points or less. This was never a great unit, but the Buffs had some positives. They forced 20 turnovers (tied for 32nd nationally), ranked 26th in red zone defense and were dramatically better in generating sacks than they were a year ago, getting 27, compared to nine in 2022. Grade: D.
Special teams: This wound up being a very solid unit. It was a bit of a roller-coaster early in the year. Punter Mark Vassett was one of the best punters in the Pac-12. He averaged 44.4 yards and landed 22 punts inside the 20. Of those, he set school records for most punts inside the 10 (11) and inside the five (six). Kicker Alejandro Mata settled into the starting job midway through the season and finished 10-of-12 on field goals, including a career-long 47 yards. The Buffs never did get kickoffs figured out, but Xavier Weaver (punts) and Jimmy Horn (kickoffs) turned into dangerous weapons on returns. Grade: C-plus.
Individual awards
Team MVP: QB Shedeur Sanders. CU hasn’t has a quarterback as good as Sanders in a long time, if ever. He was brilliant at times, setting a school record for single-season passing yards (3,230), coming up one short of the TD record (27) and throwing only three interceptions. He was also sacked 52 times, the most in the nation and 13 more than any QB in CU history. Some of those were on him, but not all. All the hits added up to him being unable to play the last six quarters, but he was sensational was healthy.
Byron White Award: CB/WR Travis Hunter. In CU history, there’s never been a better overall player than White, who did it all for the Buffs in 1936 and 1937. Hunter doesn’t punt or handle return duties like White did, but he’s the most versatile player in college football today. In fact, he won the Paul Hornung Award this week for being the nation’s most versatile player. As a receiver, he caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns. As a cornerback, he had 31 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups. And he did it in only nine games.
Top offensive player: WR Xavier Weaver. Sanders is the overall MVP, so we’ll mix it up and give this award to Weaver. A bout with the flu caused him to miss the finale and a shot a 1,000-yard season, but he was fantastic this year. He caught 68 passes for 908 yards – both numbers rank in the top 11 in CU history for a single season – and four touchdowns. He also averaged 16.5 yards on eight punt returns.
Top defensive player: OLB Jordan Domineck. Came to CU highly touted after being one of the SEC leaders in sacks a year ago at Arkansas, with 7.5. He didn’t have as many sacks this year (5), but posted a career-high with 12 tackles for loss, leading the team. He also had 51 total tackles, while added four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Domineck was arguably CU’s most consistent defender, recording at least one tackle for loss in nine of the 12 games.
Top special teams player: P Mark Vassett. Like the rest of the special teams, he had some rocky moments early, but he wound up proving to be a major weapon. His 44.4-yard average was solid, but where he really shined was with his directional punting and flipping the field with his ability to pin opponents deep. He was one of the best punters in the ACC with Louisville last year and one of the best in the Pac-12 this year.
Top freshman: RB Dylan Edwards. This was no contest, as Edwards was a star in Game 1 and a regular contributor all year. His best game was the opener against TCU (159 total yards, four touchdowns), but he finished the season with some nice numbers, especially for a freshman. He was third on the team in all-purpose yards with 768 (321 rushing, 299 receiving, 148 on returns).
Biggest surprise: TE Michael Harrison. A walk-on receiver in the spring, he converted to tight end over the summer. Then, he posted one of the best seasons by a CU tight end in years before hitting the transfer portal last week. Remained a walk-on, but finished with 31 catches for 284 yards and five touchdowns. It’s the most catches by a CU tight end since 2009 and the most touchdowns by a Buffs’ tight end since 2007.
Best interview: QB Shedeur Sanders. CU’s got a lot of good personalities who were great with the media, including Domineck, Weaver and safety Shilo Sanders. This award goes to Shedeur, however, because not only was he great when he got in front of the media, but he took on the challenge of answering questions after wins and losses and never flinched.
