In 2024, the Colorado Buffaloes had arguably their best season in two decades, finishing in the top 25 of the AP poll. However, they’ve since lost their best player, Travis Hunter, and their quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, to the NFL Draft. Those are big holes to fill, and it appears head coach Deion Sanders hasn’t quite figured out how to address them yet. On top of that, new issues seem to be emerging in the front seven in Boulder.
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Coach Prime‘s Colorado defense was solid last year, ranking in the middle of the pack in most categories. But in Week 1 against Georgia Tech, they had the ball rammed down their throats on the ground in a 27-20 loss. The Yellow Jackets scored a touchdown with about a minute left to win a close one. But Prime will be disappointed in how his team played in their home opener. Especially the defense.
And he’s not alone. Shannon Sharpe, who’s been a vocal supporter of Sanders’ regime at Colorado, said he “was disgusted watching this game.”
For Sharpe, Georgia Tech’s 47 rushes for 320 yards and three TDs were unacceptable. Especially considering the Yellow Jackets have been known for decades for their love of running the ball.
“Georgia Tech could run the football since I was a kid! Even when they had Megatron, they ran the damn football,” Sharpe added.
“Georgia Tech runs the football. It’s like if you play the Navy Academy or Army, you know they’re going to run the football! I was like, ‘Livingston, are you gonna make any adjustments?’ Guys, what is your responsibilities? What about your gap integrity? What about your contain responsibility? This is utterly ridiculous!”
Unc Shannon sharpe said he was disgusted with Colorado’s defense pic.twitter.com/gdSmKqStaL
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) August 30, 2025
The Buffaloes allowed about 151 rushing yards per game last year, so this opening day performance is concerning.
On the other side of the ball, Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter won the starting QB job over freshman five-star recruit Julian Lewis. However, you wouldn’t say he seized the opportunity in Week 1.
Salter’s stats were decent—he went 17-for-28 for 159 yards and a touchdown through the air, and rushed 14 times for 43 yards and another score on the ground—but he missed a few easy throws. One notable miss came on a third down late in the fourth quarter that could’ve set them up for a game-winning score.
“And the quarterback, Salter, bro you missed entirely too many throws… And No. 20 got a nice set of hands on him, the running back. Bro, he’s wide open! And I hate when quarterbacks do this, when you miss a throw you go to the RB or you go to the WR talking about ‘I wanted you to be here.’ No, bro I was right here! Put it on me. All you had to do is hit me right here. Don’t do that. You effed it up! And he had the guy on 3rd-and-10!”
It’s not ideal to lose to a fellow unranked team at home to start your season off. Like Sharpe, Coach Prime was not happy about his team’s defensive performance either, admitting that, “we didn’t get the job done. They were much more physical than we were. They were much more aggressive at times.”
Physicality, aggression, and strength in their run defense were clearly the issues in Week 1. So, at least they know what they need to fix. Whether they have the ability actually to fix it is another story, however.
