Where Colorado stands in ESPN’s latest FPI release
The Colorado football program has received substantial hype this offseason and for good reason. Deion Sanders has quickly revamped the roster and the coaching staff, and the Buffs have a great many eyes on them with the spring game looming on Saturday.
ESPN released its FPI rankings, and while the Buffs have added a flurry of talent, they are 95th in the initial rankings. Here’s why (h/t Seth Walder of ESPN):
Considering the hype around Colorado with Deion Sanders now the Buffaloes’ head coach, as well as a slew of transfers in to play for him, it’s a bit of a shock to see Colorado all the way down at … 95th in FPI’s rankings — the lowest-ranked Power Five team.
The model has somewhat of a handle on the transfers. They’re recognized in Colorado’s “talent” and returning production portions of the calculation, and the Buffaloes do have higher talent scores on both offense and defense than virtually all of the teams around them in the overall rankings. From the model’s perspective, though, that isn’t enough to overcome the recent poor play. The Buffaloes ranked fourth worst and 11th worst in offensive and defensive efficiency last season. So FPI actually is predicting a decent step up this year.
That being said, 95th is still rough. It’s probably reasonable to think this is an unusual circumstance of roster turnover — one-win teams don’t usually transfer in high-end players — that FPI might not be able to perfectly capture.
To be fair, the Buffs went 1-11 a season ago. Yes, they have brought in a great many big-name players, but it remains to be seen how this roster jells. The Buffs’ schedule is difficult in 2023, and Shedeur Sanders making the jump from Jackson State to Colorado is a tough move.
All in all, this number can change quickly if the Buffs get off to a strong start, but there are reasons to be wary.
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