Deion Sanders arrived at Colorado promising to turn a struggling program into a contender. Four seasons later, the results are hardly convincing. After going 4-8 in 2023, Coach Prime delivered a 9-4 season in 2024, only to crash back to 3-9 in 2025. Now, with Colorado sitting at 2-3 in 2026 and Sanders holding an overall 18-24 record, the questions are getting louder. But apparently, Colorado’s problems from nearly two decades ago are still part of the defense.
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Colorado alumnus Matt McCall, better known as Moneyline Matt, argued that critics were acting as though Sanders had inherited Nick Saban’s championship-winning Alabama program. He pointed to Colorado’s losing record between 2006 and 2022 to emphasize just how bad things were before Coach Prime arrived. Fair enough, but the past can only explain so much about the present. And as McCall continued pushing that narrative, former Colorado center Alex Kelley finally broke his silence, questioning why longtime Buffaloes fans and former players were seemingly being dismissed simply for having a different perspective.
“I normally keep quiet on here about CU Buffs media stuff,” Kelley posted on X on Friday. “My dad played at CU. I played at CU. This guy has been popping up on my timeline a lot. I don’t know who he is, since I don’t consume a lot of Prime media. But every take that I have seen recently is basically calling every single old CU fan and player wrong on every take they have. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, please.”
And Kelley isn’t just another fan airing his frustration online. He’s a former Colorado center who started 38 games for the Buffaloes between 2012 and 2016, and the son of Karry Kelley, who played for Colorado in the 1970s. With two generations of his family tied to the program, Kelley has lived through its history rather than simply watched it from the sidelines.
“Colorado has produced great players, great coaches, great moments. But we’re not talking about 1990, we’re talking about the program Coach Prime inherited,” McCall argued.
“Because listening to some folks talk today, you’d think Coach Prime inherited Alabama from Nick Saban, when he didn’t.”
McCall’s Alabama comparison was hardly accidental. Nick Saban turned the Crimson Tide into a college football dynasty, winning six national championships before retiring in January 2024. Sanders, meanwhile, inherited a Colorado team that had finished 1-11 in 2022. McCall’s point was that expecting Sanders to deliver Alabama-level results ignored the mess he inherited. But there’s a catch. Colorado’s past explains the challenge he initially faced, but it doesn’t automatically excuse the program’s current struggles.
Those who once wore the Buffaloes uniform have every right to question the team’s direction. Kelley wasn’t denying Colorado’s troubled past. He was challenging why those who experienced it were being dismissed.
After finishing 10-3 and winning the Big 12 championship in 2001, the Buffaloes entered a prolonged slump. From 2006 through 2022, they endured 15 losing seasons in 17 years, with their only 10-win campaign coming under Mike MacIntyre in 2016. The low points were brutal, including identical 1-11 finishes in 2012 and 2022.
And 2026 hasn’t offered much relief for Sanders. Colorado has suffered three consecutive losses, including a 41-7 blowout against Northwestern, a 23-13 defeat to Baylor and a 29-7 loss to Texas Tech.
The Buffaloes have been outscored 93-27 during that stretch, with their offense managing just seven points in two of those games. Quarterback uncertainty has only added to the frustration, while Sanders faces growing scrutiny over his coaching decisions.
Colorado’s latest slide has only intensified questions about the direction of his program.