​The Colorado Buffaloes head into the 2026 season with a host of questions after finishing 3-9 a year ago. The team closed the year by dropping seven of its final eight games, managed only one win in conference play, and faltered on both sides of the ball. In the wake of that disappointing finish, head coach Deion Sanders publicly took responsibility for Colorado’s struggles. Yet, former NFL MVP Cam Newton believes the pressure on Coach Prime is mounting.
On his 4th&1 podcast, Newton warned that Sanders cannot afford another losing season. “If he keeps playing like this and continues to lose, he’s not going to be in next year’s game either,” Newton said, casting doubt on Sanders’ long-term outlook. He noted, “We’re in a performance-based industry. Some might say, ‘Well, he’s not at Alabama or Clemson or Georgia.’ But he’s in a situation where Colorado hasn’t won much since what, Kordell Stewart? That’s the last time.” Colorado’s last national championship came in 1990, the year before Stewart joined the program, though the Buffs did win the 2001 Big 12 title after his departure.
In 2023, Sanders inherited one of college football’s toughest rebuilds. He took over a program that had gone 1-11 the prior season and quickly turned Colorado into a major storyline. Nonetheless, Newton believes Sanders still has work to do before he proves himself as a championship-level head coach. “He brought more relevance to Colorado,” Newton said. “He made Colorado more famous than Colorado did… But this is where I’ve always stood with Prime. I don’t think Deion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders is in the best situation as a head coach.”
Looking at last season, the situation grew more complex. Colorado never established stable quarterback play, while its run defense ranked 133rd out of 134 FBS teams. The offense struggled, and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was stripped of play-calling duties in early November following the Utah loss, with tight ends coach Brett Bartolone stepping in. Yet, the coaching change did not resolve Colorado’s core issues. The offense continued to stall in the closing weeks, and the development of quarterback Julian Lewis became another focal point of discussion.
However, Lewis recently disclosed that he spent very little time studying opposing defenses during his freshman year. “I’m actually looking at the defenses now,” Lewis said this week. “Last year, we weren’t really looking at the defenses much.” With a minimum target of 500 words, this rewritten account preserves the sequence of events and the attributes of the story while rephrasing for clarity and flow.