As June starts to roll into July, and July eventually leads us to the start of fall camps at the beginning of August, the 2023 college football season will be here before we know it. What a season it projects to be in the Pac-12 Conference, as well. With a handful of College Football Playoff contenders, and a group of Heisman Trophy candidates leading their prospective teams, we could be set up for one of the best football seasons out west that we’ve seen in decades. To help get us prepared, we at Ducks Wire wanted to go through each team in the conference and give a comprehensive breakdown of each school, breaking down their 2023 outlook. Welcome to our Pac-12 Previews. New editions will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to the start of fall camp.
Check out our previously published previews: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears
In the 2023 offseason, the Colorado Buffaloes became one of the most talked about teams in college football, after the hire of Hall of Fame CB and former Jackson State Head Coach, Deion Sanders. At Jackson State, Sanders’ high-energy coaching style attracted a bunch of high-caliber recruits, including Sanders’ son Shedeur and former No. 1 ranked recruit WR/CB Travis Hunter. The Buffs also were able to sign 5-star CB Cormani McClain — the No. 1 CB in 2023— as well.
When Sanders — or Coach Prime as he is known by many — made the transition from FCS to FBS, he brought many players with him including Hunter and Shedeur. However, many current Buffaloes seemed to notice a “changing of the guard” and hopped into the transfer portal themselves.
After what has been a very eventful offseason for Buffs’ fans, we are only a few months away from seeing how all the hype will play out. Will Coach Prime flourish, or experience growing pains? ill the 2023 Colorado Buffaloes end up somewhere in the middle? Let’s break it all down in our complete season preview.