With a seemingly constant news cycle revolving around CU Buffs’ head coach Deion Sanders and his family during the offseason, an actual football game took place. The 2025 season kicked off for Colorado on Friday in a game against Georgia Tech that went down to the last play. It was Georgia Tech prevailing 27-20, when a Hail Mary pass came up short in the end zone on the final play of the game for CU.

After three consecutive turnovers by the Yellow Jackets to start the game, it appeared as though the Buffaloes would be in control of the matchup, but that’s when Georgia came to life. Quarterback Haynes King would run for 159 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. With 1:07 remaining in the game, he would score the go-ahead touchdown that would be the game-winner for Georgia Tech.

“Oh, Lord, that’s a tough one,” said Head Coach Prime. “Especially provoking three turnovers and really not coming up plentiful, it’s not good. We’ve got to be more explosive, more definitive, more decisive with what we’re doing with the ball on offense. Defensively, we gave up 463 yards of total offense. They ran for 320 yards. You’re not gonna win with those statistics.” Tried many things. We tried blitzing, trying to fill every gap, but we couldn’t get the job done.” It is the first season for Sanders to coach without his sons and a contingent of eight players who departed for the NFL from last season at CU.

While maintaining a positive outlook and display of faith, Head Coach Deion Sanders survived a string of negative events. While dealing with the repercussions of a battle with bladder cancer, Sanders stood by while his son, Shedeur Sanders, saw his stock plummet in the NFL Draft. He was projected to be taken in the first round but wasn’t selected until the fifth round, where he was the second quarterback taken by the Cleveland Browns. He is now third on the depth chart after making the 53-man roster.  

His other son, Shilo, was selected as a free agent after the draft, but was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His release came a day after he threw a retaliatory punch at an opposing player in a preseason game.

Coach Prime is also coaching without the number one player in the NFL Draft, Travis Hunter, who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars will play against the Broncos four days before Christmas in Denver on December 21st.

For year three of the CU Buffs under Coach Prime, they will be led by quarterback Kaidon Salter, replacing Shedeur Sanders. In the season opener, Salter finished 17-of-28 passing, for 159 yards, and a touchdown. His 7-yard scramble would tie the game at 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter.

“I think he should have ran, and he threw,” said Coach Prime. “I don’t want him to prove to us that he could throw the ball. We know he could throw the ball. He’s a dual threat, and we want him to be a dual threat. But I don’t think we lost the game because of Kaidon Salter, by any means, he put us in a situation to win.”

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