CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Colorado

4–⁠8 (1–⁠8 Pac-12), coached by Deion Sanders.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 2023, game by game: won at No. 17 TCU 45–42; won vs. Nebraska 36–14; won vs. Colorado State 43–35; lost at No. 10 Oregon 6–42; lost vs. No. 8 USC 41–48; won at Arizona State 27–24; lost vs. Stanford 43–46; lost at No. 23 UCLA 16–28; lost vs. No. 16 Oregon State 19–26; lost vs. No. 23 Arizona 31–34; lost at Washington State 14–56; lost at Utah 17–23+22−42Won 45–42 at No. 17 TCU+3No. 17 TCUWon 36–14 vs. Nebraska+22NebraskaWon 43–35 vs. Colorado State+8Colorado StateLost 6–42 at No. 10 Oregon-36No. 10 OregonLost 41–48 vs. No. 8 USC-7No. 8 USCWon 27–24 at Arizona State+3Arizona StateLost 43–46 vs. Stanford-3StanfordLost 16–28 at No. 23 UCLA-12No. 23 UCLALost 19–26 vs. No. 16 Oregon State-7No. 16 Oregon StateLost 31–34 vs. No. 23 Arizona-3No. 23 ArizonaLost 14–56 at Washington State-42Washington StateLost 17–23 at Utah-6Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at17TCUW 45–⁠4213%
Sep 9vsNebraskaW 36–⁠1449%
Sep 16vsColorado StateW 43–⁠3565%
Sep 23at10OregonL 6–⁠4218%
Sep 30vs8USCL 41–⁠4828%
Oct 7atArizona StateW 27–⁠2447%
Oct 13vsStanfordL 43–⁠4667%
Oct 28at23UCLAL 16–⁠2817%
Nov 4vs16Oregon StateL 19–⁠2623%
Nov 11vs23ArizonaL 31–⁠3434%
Nov 17atWashington StateL 14–⁠5636%
Nov 25atUtahL 17–⁠2315%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 23–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 117th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 22
  2. Wk 3: 18
  3. Wk 4: 19

Paul Hornung AwardTravis Hunter, WR/CB

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
1–⁠8 12th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
338–⁠418
Coach
Deion Sanders
Elo
1362 −9 this season
SP+ rating
-4.9 No. 81 of 133; offense No. 47, defense No. 113, special teams No. 70
SRS
1.0 No. 59 of 133 in FBS
Returning
8% of last season’s EPA, No. 129 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 29 roster talent No. 35 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Sean Lewis and Pat Shurmur
Defensive coordinator
Charles Kelly
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 133
  • Defense109th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted50th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted96th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1342%1.3152nd of 133
Defense0.1947%1.25109th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.16 def		42% off
45% def		—50th off
96th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.2own 2917% allowed
Defense4.3own 2816% caused

CORE rating -0.9, 70th of 133 (offense 2.6, defense 3.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsShedeur Sanders QB3,230 yds
Passing touchdownsShedeur Sanders QB27 TD
Rushing yardsDylan Edwards RB321 yds
Rushing touchdownsShedeur Sanders QB4 TD
Receiving yardsXavier Weaver WR908 yds
Receiving touchdownsJimmy Horn Jr. WR6 TD
TacklesLaVonta Bentley LB69 tkl
SacksJordan Domineck LB5 sacks
InterceptionsCam’Ron Silmon-Craig S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Cormani McClain CB★★★★★No. 13
Dylan Edwards RB★★★★No. 175
Adam Hopkins IV WR★★★★No. 266
Omarion Miller WR★★★★No. 271
Morgan Pearson LB★★★No. 600

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.861
Running backs14.00.931
Receivers63.30.880
Offensive line13.00.834
Defensive line13.00.880
Linebackers33.00.863
Defensive backs43.50.879
Whole class183.30.875

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 113

The 2023 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 47

The 2023 portal
Travis Hunter CB★★★★★from Jackson State
Shedeur Sanders QB★★★★from Jackson State
Alton McCaskill RB★★★★from Houston
Demouy Kennedy LB★★★★from Alabama
Jimmy Horn Jr. WR★★★★from South Florida
Brendan Gant S★★★from Florida State
Derrick McLendon II DE★★★from Florida State
Jeremiah Brown LB★★★from Jackson State
Leonard Payne Jr. DL★★★from Fresno State
Myles Slusher S★★★from Arkansas
Sav’ell Smalls DE★★★from Washington
Javon Antonio WR★★★from Northwestern State

And 35 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 58

Jordyn Tyson WR★★★★to Arizona State
Montana Lemonious-Craig WR★★★★to Arizona
Seydou Traore TE★★★★to Mississippi State
Casey Roddick OL★★★to Florida State
Nikko Reed CB★★★to Oregon
Brendon Lewis QB★★★to Nevada
Kaden Ludwick DE★★★to Oregon
Kaylin Moore ATH★★★to California
Taylor Upshaw DE★★★to Arizona
Tyrin Taylor S★★★to Memphis
Aubrey Smith LB★★★to Houston
Chase Penry WR★★★to Boise State

And 46 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington9–⁠014–⁠12
Oregon8–⁠112–⁠26
Arizona7–⁠210–⁠311
Utah5–⁠48–⁠5
USC5–⁠48–⁠5
Oregon State5–⁠48–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠58–⁠5
California4–⁠56–⁠7
Washington State2–⁠75–⁠7
Arizona State2–⁠73–⁠9
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Colorado1–⁠84–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.