Colorado is coming off a rough 3-9 season, but the hard part isn’t done. Head coach Deion Sanders added over 40 transfers and hired two new coordinators, hoping for a bounce-back. Instead, the Buffaloes are hitting new lows.

Oddsmakers have already labeled Colorado the weakest team in the Big 12. FanDuel projects the Buffaloes to win just 4.5 games in 2026, which is the lowest in the conference, a full game below the next lowest team at 5.5. The under is favored at -168, meaning bettors expect another losing season. This projection is low, but it does make sense because Colorado struggled with a nine-loss 2025 season.

Still, the projection stands out because it is a full game lower than the next lowest Big 12 teams, who are at 5.5 wins. The tough schedule explains part of this gap. The team struggled last year against teams like BYU, Utah, and Arizona, and their game just got worse after that.

Now in 2026, they again face a difficult beginning. In their first four games, they play three games on the road against strong Power Four teams like Georgia Tech, Northwestern, and Baylor. They also play Texas Tech, which is the defending Big 12 champion, before getting a break in Week 6. That brutal start is why Vegas sees Colorado as the Big 12’s biggest risk to underperform.

This tough stretch explains the lowest win odds. But Colorado didn’t sit idle, as the program brought in new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion to install a new system and improve the team’s offense. Even Deion Sanders worked on building a new quarterback-led system for Julian Lewis and Isaac Wilson.

The team also tackled another major issue, which is their run game, as last year the team allowed 222.5 rushing yards per game. Because of this weakness, the staff added defensive transfers like linebacker Gideon Lampron to improve tackling and make the defense tougher.

Overall, Colorado made changes on both offense and defense by bringing in new coaches, developing young quarterbacks, and adding transfer players to fix problems and improve the team. Now, it will be interesting to see if the team is able to surpass the odds or not.

Even with 43 new transfers and two new coordinators, the odds remain brutal. Colorado spent heavily to rebuild, but the market still sees it as the conference’s weakest team.

Deion Sanders is trying to solidify his team’s positions

Deion Sanders’ wide receivers room remains in a solid position so far, as the team has solid players on the team like Joseph Williams, Hykeem Williams, Quentin Gibson, and Quannell Farrakhan Jr. Even Sanders himself praised his wide receiver room.

“It’s a much better room,” Sanders said in March. “It’s a room that has accomplished a lot more. It’s a room that is very unselfish. They got that thing. They’re not jealous of one another. The love to practice, the love to work.”

Joseph Williams leads this group after catching 37 passes for 489 yards and scoring four touchdowns last season. He might become an important target for Julian Lewis, who is expected to start in 2026.

Colorado makes its offense stronger by bringing in new players from other schools. They added Danny Scudero from San Jose State, DeAndre Moore Jr. from Texas, Kam Perry from Miami-OH, and Ernest Campbell from Sacramento State. The overall team is heading towards a major development this season.

With new players, expectations are pretty high, and even the Buffs are hoping they put up a solid team. So, now it will be interesting to see how well this change works for them. Because another losing season could cost them big.