Colorado’s Deion Sanders, Robert Livingston sent warning on Buffs’ missing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter

Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston have to face two facts as they look to rebound from a 0-2 start against Power 4 opponents during the 2025 season:

They no longer have Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to bail them out, and because of that, they will be an objectively worse team than they were last season.

Buffzone’s Pat Rooney delivered Coach Prime and Co. the damning reality after a 36-20 loss to the Houston Cougars on Friday night. As Rooney put it, the “Grown QB” and last season’s Heisman Trophy winner aren’t walking through the door in Boulder to save the Buffs.

“Sanders probably puts that throw on the numbers. If Hunter was on the other end, maybe the slightly off-target throw gets hauled in anyway. But the Buffs don’t have Sanders and Hunter, and that’s why the 2025 Buffs simply are not as good as the 2024 Buffs, regardless of the preseason insistence to the contrary from head coach Deion Sanders,” Rooney wrote.

“That’s certainly not to pin blame on those two players, or that lone play, for the Buffs’ demise. Staub “didn’t play well” even in the estimation of his head coach, but his flurry late in the first half kept CU in the fight. Miller was trying to step up for his team after missing the previous week’s game against Delaware due to a hamstring injury that still had him as questionable on Thursday’s availability report.

“But Shedeur and Hunter aren’t walking in the door to save the season. That’s up to Coach Prime along with defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, who so far doesn’t have an answer to the Buffs’ paper-thin physicality up front, and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who has no answers at quarterback.”

The team’s closest skill position player in pedigree to Shedeur and Hunter, 4-star true freshman Julian Lewis, isn’t ready to man the quarterback position yet. Jordan Seaton, the other, has been instrumental in the improved run game. But Coastal Carolina Chanticleers transfer Simeon Price, sophomore Micah Welch, and Incarnate Word Cardinals transfer Dekalon Taylor aren’t carrying that offense.

There’s no star signal-caller and no game-breaking receiver who often slowed down the opposing team’s best receiver.

Because of that, 9-3 is a pipe dream, and Coach Prime is now behind the 8-ball with talent in Boulder until further notice.