Colorado’s 41-7 loss to Northwestern gave Shannon Sharpe exactly the evidence he needed. The Buffaloes turned the ball over four times, failed on three fourth-down tries, and picked up nine penalties.
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“They ain’t no best players coming in,” Sharpe said on the latest episode of Nightcap.
Northwestern even outgained Colorado 423 to 348 yards. That gap between the yardage and the final score is exactly what Sharpe’s been pointing to for a while now.
Chad Johnson picked up right where Sharpe left off. His point was that if Colorado wants to keep up with the spending programs, somebody has to actually open the “checkbook.” Sharpe ran with that and laid out exactly what the competition looks like in real dollars.
“You got a choice to go to Colorado for a million five, or you got a choice to go to LSU for a million three. Where you going?” Sharpe continued in the YouTube clip of the podcast. “Look how many players LSU’s put in the NFL in the last two years. Look how many Colorado’s put in the NFL in the last two years.”
Turns out the numbers back him up. LSU has had seven players drafted in each of the last two NFL Drafts. That includes first-round cornerback Mansoor Delane, taken sixth overall this year, and offensive tackle Will Campbell, who went fourth overall in 2025.
Colorado’s numbers tell a very different story. The Buffaloes had four players drafted in 2025, led by Heisman winner Travis Hunter. Then in 2026, they had zero. That’s the first time Colorado got shut out of the draft since 2024.
That gap doesn’t just say something about the players who already left. It shapes where the next class of recruits decides to sign in the first place.
Sharpe’s argument gets even stronger when you look at what Colorado’s roster has actually lost. Big transfers and departures have thinned out a group that used to have NFL scouts talking. Saturday looked like the result of that.
Julian Lewis went 19-of-29 for 168 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. That snapped a streak of 150 straight throws without a pick. On the other side, Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles went 17-of-22 for 241 yards and three touchdown passes, plus two more scores on the ground. Joseph Himon II caught all three of those touchdown passes.
Sanders saw the loss a little differently in his own postgame comments. He said Northwestern “forced us to turn the ball over, forced us into bad decisions… forced us into doing things that are not truly who we are.” He’s also been pushing his players hard on competitive fire lately, even questioning their mentality after a blowout win over Weber State the week before.
But that’s not really what Sharpe is talking about. His point skips right past effort and mentality and goes straight to the roster Sanders actually has to work with. You can play with all the fire in the world, but if the talent gap is real, turnovers and penalties are still going to find you.
Colorado opens Big 12 play next Saturday at Baylor, still trying to clean up the mess from Northwestern. Win or lose, Sharpe’s real question sticks around. Can Colorado actually attract and keep the level of player it needs to compete? Or was Saturday night just a preview of what happens when the answer is no.