Uncertainty looms over Colorado's players and coaches as the end of the season approaches, but this program's future can be bright.
The reminders and relevant examples are scattered across the Pac-12.
The Buffaloes have seen them first-hand through this mostly forgettable fall. Opponents like Arizona, USC and this week Washington were in disarray themselves not long ago, before a variety of variables, specifically the right coaching hire and an impact quarterback, transformed those programs again.
USC and Oregon are likely the two best teams in the conference, both led by dynamic transfer quarterbacks. No, the Buffs probably aren't pulling the next Caleb Williams or Bo Nix out of the portal this offseason, or hiring a proven winner like Lincoln Riley, but maybe the Wildcats and Huskies are more apt comparisons.
Arizona, which beat the Buffs 43-20 last month and pulled off a major upset last weekend over then-No. 9 UCLA, went 1-11 last season. The Wildcats ranked 101st nationally in total offense. Now in their second year under Jedd Fisch, a first-time head coach and well-traveled NFL and college assistant, they've won four games and are clearly on an upward trajectory. They landed transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura, from Washington State, and sit just outside the top 20 in total offense.
And then there's Washington -- the Buffs' opponent this week. The Huskies won just four games last season and ranked 115th in total offense. The program then hired an up-and-coming coach in Kalen DeBoer, who had made his mark as an offensive coordinator at Indiana and then as a head coach at Fresno State. Washington then reeled in quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Indiana transfer, in a relatively under-the-radar move. He leads the FBS in passing yards, directing a top-10 offense that stunned then-No. 6 Oregon on the road last weekend.
“The thing [that] is different about the NFL is that you have to project a quarterback from a lower level to a higher level,” Colorado interim head coach Mike Sanford said. “In college football, you're projecting a quarterback from the same level to the same level, and they get better as time goes on. So we can say these are phenomenal jobs of coaching, and they are, there's great coaches, but this a player's game. And just look at the quick turnarounds.
"Oregon State to me is a great example. That's not just one piece coming in. But what you saw there is retention. You saw growth, you saw going through the hard times, in a lot of these other instances. This is all about talent acquisition. That's the name of the game of football.”
It is obvious that a quarterback would solve a great deal of the offensive strife, but that's the point -- the Buffs aren't in need of a complex solution. They simply need to nail this coaching hire and bring in a coach who can attract a difference-making quarterback.
Athletic Director Rick George and Sanford continue to meet once a week to discuss personnel, the current roster and stepping into this new age of NIL.
As Colorado is reacclimating to the ever-evolving space of college football, drastic transformations are taking place all over FBS this year.
Take Kansas as another example. The Jayhawks went 12 seasons winning three or fewer games a year. Then they hired Buffalo coach Lance Leipold, who didn't need to use the portal to find his quarterback, developing former two-star prospect Jalon Daniels into an emerging star for a six-win, climbing Kansas team.
“Any program can change. Look at the Big-12,” Colorado linebacker Robert Barnes said. “Kansas was the bottom feeder every time, every year I was there and then they’re a bowl contender and really had a good chance to win the Big-12 this year. I think any time you get a new coach and you change your culture and you change the way you play, anything can happen.”
Discouraged Buffs fans need only look across the field this weekend at Penix and DeBoer. It may not happen overnight -- Colorado doesn't have the same talent in the program right now that those two inherited at Washington -- but neither did Arizona or Kansas.
A new head coach and a new quarterback could make Colorado one of those surprise reclamation successes in the coming years.
Meanwhile, another crucial element for Colorado over the next month is to prevent another mass exodus of the program's best players.
The Buffs' lack of success in the portal due to specific academic transfer requirements can also be thrown into this conversation, but as of now, Sanford is helping the current roster see the bright sides of Colorado football through his thoughtful and attentive leadership.
“Nobody wanted to have to play a season with 23 less players than you thought you were going into with, in addition to the seniors that left,” Sanford said. “But the fact that they're bought into the process of getting better, to me it shows so much about their character.”
There’s no hope left in this season, but there can be plenty for the future.
