Greg McElroy believes Colorado is bowl game bound in 2024
There’s plenty of hype around Colorado again going into their second season under Deion Sanders. There’s also enough going in Boulder for Greg McElroy to see a bowl berth for the Buffaloes in 2024.
McElroy tiered the entire Big 12 during ‘Always College Football’ on Friday. In that episode, he placed Colorado as the final team in tier four which, in his ratings, means a postseason spot for the program.
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“Colorado, I do believe, is bowl game-bound this year,” said McElroy.
Much of this opinion hinges on how the roster comes together. Colorado once again redid the team this offseason with 41 transfers in and 44 transfers. McElroy did deem some of those moves as necessary ones, especially in regards to linemen, but knows that’s a lot of changes for them over the past two years alone.
“Deion has flipped the roster again,” said McElroy. “You think back to last year – 72 signees, the No. 1 ranked transfer class, retaining just 10 scholarship players from the previous regime.”
“They finished 4-8 and they were last in the Pac-12. 45 of those 72 players for Colorado that Deion brought in last year are already gone. So a lot of turnover,” McElroy continued. “I do think they’ve done a pretty good job this year in the portal addressing some of the concerns from last year.”
However, McElroy has some sense of optimism in them if for no other reason than QB Shedeur Sanders. After one of the best passing seasons in school history in his first year there, he’s back to give them a chance at wins every time that he takes the field.
“Here’s the good news – Shedeur Sanders is always going to give you a chance. He is always going to put you in position to go out and potentially steal one. If everyone else on the offense doesn’t play well, he has enough juice and game to be able to elevate all of those other players to potentially secure a victory against a better roster. That’s how good he is,” said McElroy. “Having an elite quarterback is the ultimate neutralizer and I believe Shedeur Sanders is elite. Needs to be better in the pocket though – took way too many sacks.”
With all that said, Colorado is also going to have to adjust from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. While their slate is tough at face value, McElroy also sees several games that are going to test the Buffs in regards to style of play.
“The schedule is extremely difficult and the matchups for Colorado are something that I don’t yet feel great about,” McElroy noted.
The spotlight will once again be back on Coach Prime and Colorado this fall. It should stay on them a little longer this time too with McElroy seeing at least six wins for them. It just doesn’t go much further than that from him, though, until they prove otherwise.
“I expect them to be improved but this is a see it to believe it business,” stated McElroy. “I anticipate strides taken and I do anticipate them getting to the postseason. But making a ton of noise in the Big 12? That is a bridge too far at this moment.”