Prime return for Colorado in 1st game at TCU since Sanders won debut there in '23 opener
FILE-TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, left, and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders shake hands after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas. Credit: AP/LM Otero
FORT WORTH, Texas — There were a lot of unknowns before coach Deion Sanders made his Colorado debut against a future Big 12 opponent coming off an appearance in the national championship game.
Now for the first time since their prime 45-42 upset in that much-hyped 2023 season opener, the Buffaloes play at TCU again Saturday night.
“We had so much fire, fanfare and athletes, bona fide dogs, and we went and did what we had to do,” Sanders said this week. “I’m pretty sure they understand what transpired there."
Sanders was answering a question about returning to the site of his first Colorado win, and how quickly that changed the perception of a program that won only once the season before his arrival and a complete roster overhaul. But those comments came after he initially said he couldn't live in the past.
“The past is the past," he said. “We’re going to leave that there.”
No more Hunter and Shedeur
Things have changed, including Colorado (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) being back in the conference where it was one of the original 12 members in 1996. The Buffs left for the Pac-12 in 2011, a year before TCU (3-1, 0-1) joined the Big 12, but they didn't face each other last season when in the same league together for the first time.
Colorado no longer has quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the coach's son, or two-way standout and 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Both went with Deion Sanders from FBS program Jackson State to Colorado.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders gestures as he waits with players to be introduced in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Brigham Young Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
“I don't think anybody knew how that was going to go. And I don’t know if anybody knew those guys were going to be as good of players as they were,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “You look at some of the plays Travis Hunter made in some critical situations. He did what the guy that won the Heisman Trophy is supposed to do. He kind of took over games, and certainly did that in our game. They had those guys for two years. And now they’re retooling a little bit.”
First steps toward a Heisman
Hunter played more than 120 snaps that hot September day, when the Frogs were a three-touchdown favorite after playing in the national championship game the previous season in Dykes' debut with them.
Along with being one of Colorado's four 100-yard receivers that day, Hunter made an incredible diving interception near the goal line after TCU drove 95 yards from its own 1 when trying to take a second-half lead. He was the first FBS player in 21 years with 100 yards receiving and a pick in the same game.
Knocked out of the poll
The Frogs fell out of the AP Top 25 after that loss and stayed unranked until winning their first three games this season. Those wins included another hyped opener, at North Carolina in six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick's college debut, and the last scheduled game in a 110-year-old rivalry against SMU, where Dykes was previously the coach.
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes looks to an official for an explanation after a play in the second half of an NCAA college football game against SMU, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
But they were back in the poll only one week before losing their Big 12 opener Friday night at reigning champion Arizona State.
Colorado is coming off a 24-21 home loss to No. 23 BYU, and its other Big 12 loss was at Houston. Those two sets of Cougars are among the league's four undefeated teams. The Buffs opened the season with a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech, which is now 5-0 and ranked 17th.
“We feel like we have a pretty darn good football team, even though the record don’t display that. Two games to ranked opponents by 10 points in total, makes us think, darn, a play here and play there, we’ll get it going,” Sanders said.
“They've lost to three quality opponents,” Dykes said. “Lots of team speed, a lot of playmakers on both sides of the football, another mobile quarterback.”
After Deion's Cowtown debut
The win at TCU was the first of a 3-0 start for the Buffaloes under Sanders, but they went 1-8 the rest of that season. The Horned Frogs rebounded with a three-game winning streak of their own before losing six of their last eight games — and finished 5-7 a year after an undefeated regular season got them into the College Football Playoff.
TCU and Colorado were both 9-4 last season. The Frogs finished with a four-game winning streak, and the Buffs missed out on the Big 12 championship game after being on the wrong end of a four-team tiebreaker.
“Last year we were close, I mean extremely close," Sanders said. “One game away, I feel, from being in the Big 12 championship."
