This isn’t your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it’s my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
- Who do I think is good?
- Why do I think they’re good?
- What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where Colorado lands in my Ultimate 136.
Colorado Buffaloes ranking: 25
Last year’s ranking: 41
Top player: OT Jordan Seaton: First true freshman ever to start at offensive tackle in the season opener at Colorado, and the first in the Big 12 since Kelvin Banks in 2022; in 612 pass-blocking snaps, only allowed 3 sacks.
RJ’s take: Deion Sanders has his QB of the present and of the future in former Liberty QB Kaidon Salter and five-star freshman Julian Lewis, respectively. While the void left by QB Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Travis Hunter is sizable, few have pillaged the portal for players who can perform like Prime.
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Those two players, Sanders and Hunter, deserve credit for leading CU to a nine-win season, finishing tied atop the Big 12 Conference regular-season standings and earning an invitation to the Alamo Bowl. But it’s Coach Prime that still, somehow, doesn’t get enough due.
Last year, Colorado won nine games without the presence of a run game as it was ranked dead last in the FBS in rushing yards per game. The only team to pull off a feat like that was Michigan, who played most of 2024 with just enough quarterback play to qualify as one that discovered the invention of the forward pass. He’s since added Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk to his staff as running backs coach, Byron Leftwich to coach QBs and Warren Sapp to coach the defensive line.
With Salter as the penciled starter, they’ll run the ball better because he’s the guy at QB and his legs can fix a lot of broken plays in what has been a pass-happy offense from coordinator Pat Shurmur. Salter rushed for over 2,000 yards and 21 TDs at Liberty. If a running back or two — like Dallan Hayden or Micah Welch — breaks loose, CU could actually be balanced in its offensive attack. In 2024, it didn’t have to be. It just had to show a pulse. CU was 8-0 when it rushed for 50 yards or more and 9-1 when it averaged just 1 yard per rush. Fall forward, fellas.
But Hunter’s 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns and LaJohntay Wester’s 74 catches for 931 yards with 10 touchdowns will be a group effort to make up. Omarion Miller, Dre’lon Miller, Florida State transfer Hykeem Williams, Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams and FCS Campbell transfer Sincere Brown will have to try. Brown caught 61 passes for 1,028 yards for the Camels last year and might be an emerging star for Colorado.
Alabama transfer Jaheim Oatis figures to play an important role in replacing B.J. Green’s production on the defensive line. Linebacker Arden Walker stepped up last year with 4.5 sacks. Carter Stoutmire and DJ McKinney form a secondary that should give defensive coordinator Robert Livingston everything he needs to be competitive in 2025.
The schedule features just three preseason top 25 opponents — Kansas State, Arizona State, Iowa State — but a lot of conclusions will be drawn from how the Buffaloes open against Georgia Tech.
[Check out RJ Young’s Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]
Colorado Buffaloes Win Total: Over 5.5. (-120) Under (-102)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school’s rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I’ll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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