Colorado is one-third of the way through its regular season schedule, and the picture of what this team is has become much clearer. The Buffs certainly have a more well-rounded group than they did last season, but there are still some holes to poke in Year 2 under Deion Sanders.

Despite some struggles, the Buffs are still sitting at 3-1 and have everything to play for in front of them, including bowl eligibility and a possible run at the conference title. Through a month of action, let’s check in and see what we’ve learned about this Buffs team and the program in general.

• Scouting the opponent: Buffs set for test against UCF

• Defensive front in focus ahead of run-heavy matchup with UCF

• No debate needed, Travis Hunter is the best player in college football (Gorney)

Deion Sanders and the Buffs took a chance on Robert Livingston. The former Cincinnati Bengals assistant had never been a defensive play caller before, and had been at the pro level for more than a decade. The gamble paid off, as Livingston has been a raging success calling the Colorado defense.

You can nitpick some little things with Livingston’s scheme — how much man coverage CU plays, an inability to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback — but the results under Livingston have been very encouraging. Nobody will mistake this group for an elite unit at this point, but the Buffs have been middle of the pack in terms of scoring defense and total defense. That in itself is a big achievement based on all of the new pieces being put together and where the defense was last season.