Colorado Enters 2026 With 40-Plus Transfers and Size Concerns
AUG 20, 2026
01 · The NewsWhat Happened
Colorado is entering the 2026 season after a 3-9 record in 2025, leaving Deion Sanders with a 16-21 mark since taking over before the 2023 season. The Buffaloes have added more than 40 transfer players, hired Brennan Marion as offensive coordinator and Chris Marve as defensive coordinator, and are expected to turn to quarterback Julian Lewis after Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter left for the NFL. Mike Florio questioned whether Colorado has converted Sanders’ attention into recruiting results capable of producing a winning program, while also raising concerns about the roster’s size and physicality. The supplied coverage includes no official Colorado response.
02 · The StakesWhy This One Matters
- A roster turnover of more than 40 transfers gives Colorado a new lineup, but it also leaves the 2026 offense and defense with limited continuity.
- Julian Lewis now inherits the quarterback role after Shedeur Sanders’ departure, changing the offense’s central decision-maker.
- A third losing season would intensify scrutiny around Sanders’ contract, which runs through 2029 and carries a buyout that shrinks over time.
“Those changes deserve credit before the concern is weighed: Colorado didn’t stand still.”
The Wire Desk03 · The ThesisThe Pate State Read
Sanders has responded to the 2025 collapse with a roster overhaul, two new coordinators and a new starting-quarterback expectation. Those changes deserve credit before the concern is weighed: Colorado didn’t stand still. The question is whether a 40-plus-player transfer class can supply the size and physical play Florio says the roster lacks. That answer will show up first in the trenches, where new bodies have to hold up before Lewis can make the reset matter. Colorado’s 40-plus transfers define the 2026 reset.