Colorado Football: Grading Deion Sanders' First Season as Buffaloes Head Coach

(Photo : Chris Gardner/Getty Images) SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Deion Sanders head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes leads his team onto the field before the start of their game agaisnt the Utah Utes at Rice Eccles Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Colorado Football's Deion Sanders has officially wrapped up his first year as coach of the Buffs, finishing the season with a 4-8 win-loss record. And while Coach Prime fell short of high expectations at the start of the season, there is no denying that he is on the right track.

The Buffaloes drew attention after bringing down a favored TCU Horned Frogs, 45-42, on September 2, and then winning two more at the expense of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (36-14) and the Colorado State Rams (43-35).

However, things went downhill from there as the Buffs managed to win only one more game, the one over the Arizona Sun State Devils on October 7, 27-24. In the homestretch, Sanders' Buffaloes were brought back down to reality with a five-game losing streak, CBS Sports pointed out.

Colorado Buffaloes have bright future with Deion Sanders

Regardless, some positives can be seen in Deion Sanders' first season as Buffaloes head coach. Things are just starting, and it would have been a tall order to exceed expectations on his first try.

"If you can't see what's coming with CU football, you've lost your mind," Sanders said back in September after the Buffs loss to USC, 48-41, via SI.com. "You're just a flat-out hater. If you can't see what's going on and what's going to transpire over the next couple of months, there's something wrong with you."

Channeling on that and moving forward, there is no doubt that Sanders may not have won it all this season; however, it does set up the Buffs for bigger things, with the 56-year-old laying down the framework that could be the start of something big for Colorado Football.

Colorado Football 2023 Grade: A+

Although they fell short of being bowl-eligible, Sanders proved he was more than someone fighting for clicks, referring to the comments made by Oregon coach Dan Lanning when the Ducks routed the Buffs, 42-6, per The Guardian.

Regardless of that comment, Lanning acknowledged that Colorado Football was on the right track and gave props to Coach Prime.

"I think that team's heading in the right direction. I think that coach is doing a phenomenal job," Lanning said.

True enough, it wasn't just about winning on the field for Sanders and the Buffaloes. It was all about accountability and making men out of boys.

Colorado Football had short-term success in 2023

So, while it would have been grand had they been bowl-eligible, the Buffs performance for the season is a win. Several factors contributed to that, detailed via Andscape by columnists such as William C. Rhoden, Clinton Yates, and Jean-Jacques Taylor.

Here are the gist of what each had to say about the Buffs and Sanders' college football season as a whole:

It was a success because Sanders was able to get people to watch Colorado Football games.
It was a short-term success for the Buffaloes, and the next challenge is to sustain it.
Winning four games was a feat on its own, considering they were the worst team the year before.
Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter proved they were stars wherever they played.

Coach Sanders needs to plug in roster holes

The season also gave Sanders a chance to figure out what he needed to perform better next season. There are chinks in the offensive and defensive side of the Buffs, and Sanders should know who to get to fill up those holes.

One season is in the books, and Sanders is on the right track. The next challenge for Coach Prime is to prepare for next season and improve on their 2023 performance.