Joel Klatt says Colorado having strong success in 2023 is 'unrealistic'

No one really knows what to expect of Colorado with Deion Sanders at the helm. Some anticipate a respectably better season from the Buffaloes, who went 1-11 in 2022, while others have taken it to a whole other level by awaiting their appearance near the very top of the Pac-12.

In the end, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt leans far more towards the former of those two outcomes than the latter. Although he spent four seasons as the quarterback in Boulder, even he can’t believe some of the takes that people have about Colorado for 2023 and admittedly even said as much to Sanders in a recent sit-down interview with Coach Prime.

“Listen, I’m a Colorado alum, right? This expectation that they’re just going to be like gangbusters this first year is somewhat unrealistic. And the reason is because what I tried to explain to (Sanders),” Klatt said on ‘The Will Cain Podcast’. “A plus three or four in the win column is a drastic, drastic improvement for any team in the country. Much less a team that was 1-11 and lost by an average of 29 points. They were the worst team by a wide margin. The next closest team was Northwestern, who was also 1-11 and lost by an average of 14 points. So they doubled up the average margin of loss that Northwestern had.”

“So, that being said, if they win three games or four games? People have to understand that that is not just a drastic but like a monumental jump forward for a program,” said Klatt. “And, yet, there’s this sentiment that they’re, like, gonna win the league? Or come out and be an eight win team. From my seat? That’s somewhat unrealistic.”

Of Colorado’s 12 games in ’22, only one was a win as they managed to knock off California in overtime. It was Mike Sanford’s sole victory after becoming the interim in place of Karl Dorrell. It actually then led to a field storming inside Folsom Field.

Still, it was good for them to get their celebrating out, though. Besides that, nothing else was rather enjoyable for Colorado last fall. They lost their other 11 games by an average of 32.4 points per game with only one, against Arizona State at the end of October, even coming within single digits.

So, what gives? Why is there such a high-level of confidence in what the Buffaloes can achieve, especially when comparing them to last season? Well, in Klatt’s eyes, you needn’t look any further than the personality and mindset of their new leader in Sanders.

“He wouldn’t have any part of it,” said Klatt. “What he wants is a program and, in particular, the members of that program, whether it’s coaching staff or players, everybody, all the members of the program, to be pointed at and thinking about the ultimate success and not just these incremental pieces of success that he might have along the way.”

Considering Colorado’s schedule, they’ll have their share of opportunities to make a statement to college football. However, based on how far back that they’re starting from, Klatt just wants everyone to know that it’s okay if the Buffaloes improve gradually rather than drastically.