The Colorado Buffaloes lost their most important player on both sides of the ball to the NFL. Travis Hunter, who was probably the best player on offense and defense en route to a Heisman win, was a first-round pick. QB Shedeur Sanders, who had a claim as the most important offensive piece, went a few rounds later.
That could mean that Deion Sanders' club is destined to regress, and their schedule doesn't make that reality hard to imagine. A talent loss and a difficult conference schedule could be a lethal combination. In the eyes of CBS Sports insider Shehan Jeyarajah, the Buffaloes have a top-five hardest conference slate in the Big 12.
"The Buffaloes have a fun one to open the year against Georgia Tech in Boulder, but it's the conference schedule where things get tough," Jeyarajah said. That game might indicate what sort of team the Buffs have after Hunter and Sanders, as well as Jimmy Horn Jr. and others, left.
"Colorado gets BYU, TCU, Iowa State and Utah all in a row, before ending with Arizona State and Kansas State, the top two teams in the conference," he added. "Five of CU's Big 12 wins last year came against teams that missed a bowl. There are only three such teams on the schedule this year."
Of course, that BYU game might not be as bad after a key transfer: they suddenly find themselves without Jake Retzlaff at QB, so they might end up being an easier matchup. Still, with Colorado potentially reeling from such a huge exodus to the NFL, any good matchup could be a really tough one.