LUBBOCK – Turns out the Colorado hype train was a year early. 

College football fans across America became sick of Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes in 2023 as the results didn’t match the boasting. He stated that Colorado was a College Football Playoff contention before a season that his team finished 4-8 on the season and 1-8 in conference play. The Buffs ended the year on a six-game losing streak and without a single victory over a team that went to the bowl game. 

Because of that, no one afforded Colorado any grace heading into 2024. The Buffaloes were no longer topic No. 1 on podcasts, they weren’t dominating the ratings, and the FOX and ESPN weren’t following the team around from week to week like groupies traversing the country obsessed with their favorite band’s world tour. They received the proper amount of coverage for a team coming off a four-win season. But they still received an extra serving of hate. After all, Deion ain’t hard to find, or dislike. 

“We don’t change with the stakes,” Sanders said after the game.

But even the haters must sit on their hands as Colorado rolls through the Big 12. The 41-27 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday pushed the Buffs to 7-2 on the season and into the driver’s seat of the Big 12 race. They’re 5-1 in conference play and on a three-game winning streak. This group is 4-1 on the road and is three games away from reaching AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Win that game in the Big 12 championship game and Sanders’ squad is in the CFP. Maybe with a first-round bye.  

It's not just that Colorado is winning. It is how they’re winning. Colorado couldn’t protect the quarterback or stop the run in 2023. The Buffs beat Texas Tech with physicality. They held the Red Raiders to 2.7 yards a rush on 46 attempts. Tech ran the ball 22 times for 32 yards in the first half. The Colorado defense also recorded six sacks and 10 tackles for loss. 

“I really think we got our butts whipped up front tonight,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said after the game. “That’s the frustrating part. You win games up front and we didn’t do it.” 

Colorado trailed 13-0 on the road in a rowdy and hostile environment. The Texas Tech defense forced the Buffs to punt on their first four drives. The 2023 version of Colorado would’ve folded to the pressure. The opponent could pin their ears back and tee-off on Sheduer and the Colorado defense couldn’t bow up enough to allow them back into the game. Not anymore. 

The Colorado offense scored on six of the next seven possessions after that slow start. Conversely, the Tech offense was forced into three punts and a missed field goal in its final four drives of the second half. That allowed the Buffs to take a 17-13 lead with 11 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Tech took a 20-17 lead after the next drive, but Colorado drove right back down the field for another touchdown drive to reclaim the lead. Tech never led again. 

There is an irony in Sanders’ ascension happening against McGuire. The two have known each other for over a decade since McGuire coached Deion’s oldest son, Bucky, while he was the head coach at Cedar Hill. Sanders himself became a head coach at the prep level at nearby Trinity Cedar Hill. They’re still close and shared a moment after the game. 

“Joey is first class,” he said after the win. “I look up to Joey.”

It is McGuire and the rest of the Big 12 that is now looking up to Deion’s team. 

“He’s taken a program that was at a low,” McGuire said. “Colorado hasn’t done anything in a long time. Now, they’re knocking on the door to a Big 12 championship. I told him I was proud of him.” 

Colorado has Utah at home, a trip to Kansas, and a home game against Oklahoma State to finish the regular season. As of now, they’d play undefeated BYU.