Thanks to the presence of new coach Deion Sanders, Colorado enters the season as one of college football’s most intriguing teams. One notable ESPN analyst believes the Buffaloes also may be one of the worst, to the chagrin of Coach Prime.
ESPN’s Tom Luginbill appeared on The Next Round podcast Monday, and he didn’t hold back in his rough assessment of the Buffs’ talent level after an offseason that saw Sanders use the transfer portal to an unprecedented degree with both incoming and outgoing players.
“I think we’re going to finally see, for all of the hoopla and all of the hype going into the offseason with Deion Sanders and Colorado, it does not mask the fact that they don’t have any players on that roster,” said Luginbill. “You thought UMass was the worst roster in college football? It may be Colorado’s.”
The ESPN analyst did acknowledge some individual talents on the Buffs roster, such as starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter. Still, the play on the offensive and defensive lines will define the season for Colorado, Luginbill says.
“Now I say that—do they have a quarterback? Yes. Do they have two starting [cornerbacks] that could be NFL guys, and one of them plays both ways? Yes. They are so devoid of talent up front on both sides of the ball, I don’t know how they’re going to keep their quarterback upright.”
The entire context of what @TomLuginbill said:@YahooSports @YahooSportsCFB @Rivals@DeionSanders @CUBuffsFootball pic.twitter.com/NYz987j2oA
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 29, 2023
Sanders didn’t take the criticism of his roster lightly, and he evidently believes Luginbill is misinformed.
Responding to the quote, posted by Yahoo Sports on Instagram, Sanders commented, “👀 wow! Have u been here to see any of the talent live ?”
Luckily, college football fans don’t have to wait long to find out whether Colorado, which went 1–11 a year ago, will have a first-year surge under Sanders. The Buffaloes travel to face TCU—the national runner-up a year ago—to open their season on Saturday at noon ET.
