TCU football’s Sonny Dykes sees ‘much deeper’ Colorado in rematch of 2023 opener
The last time TCU faced Colorado, in the 2023 season opener, the Horned Frogs had no idea what to expect from head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.
Sanders, his son Shedeur and Travis Hunter had success at Jackson State, but Colorado was coming off a 1-11 season. How much of an impact could they really make in their first season in Boulder?
The Horned Frogs quickly found out how special Sanders and Hunter were, as the Buffaloes shocked TCU 45-42 months after the Horned Frogs’ appearance in the national title game. It would launch the stardom of Sanders and Hunter, and it still may be Sanders’ biggest win as a head coach.
“None of us knew going into the first game what we were going to see,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “How would Shedeur and Travis Hunter transition from Jackson State to Colorado? I don’t think anybody knew how that was going to go. I don’t think anybody knew those guys were going to be as good as players as they were.
“You go back and look in our game and look at some of plays Travis made in critical situations, he did what a guy that won the Heisman Trophy is supposed to do. He took over games and certainly did that in our game.”
The situation will be different this time around with Sanders and Hunter off to the NFL. TCU (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) will also have five game tapes to review of Colorado (2-3, 0-2) this season as opposed to two years ago when TCU had to watch Jackson State film.
Despite the absence of two of the program’s biggest stars, Dykes said he believes the Buffaloes have more depth than the previous two seasons.
“They had those guys for two years, and now they’re retooling a bit,” Dykes said. “But they’ve got really talented players now, and they’re much deeper now. I think that’s the biggest difference. You look at their defensive front, they’re rolling guys through. They’ve got depth on the offensive line. I think it’s a much better group [than 2023].”
A slow start for Colorado football
Despite having more depth, Colorado has gotten off to a slow start with losses to Georgia Tech, Houston and BYU.
The Buffaloes don’t have a win over a Power Four opponent yet, as their victories came against Delaware and Wyoming. Dykes said he believes Colorado is much better than its record indicates.
“They’re a really good team, and they’re building it with depth,” Dykes said. “They’re 2-3, but they’ve lost to three quality opponents. You could make the argument they had a great opportunity to beat Georgia Tech, they had a tremendous opportunity to beat BYU. Both of those teams are ranked in the Top 25. They were playing well against Houston, and that game got away from them on the road.
“They’re a very good football team, a lot of team speed, a lot of playmakers on both sides of the football and another mobile quarterback. Two good running backs, size and speed at wide receiver. They’re a good football team on the verge of breaking through.”
There’s no Hunter on the roster, but Colorado has a trio of solid receivers with sophomore Joseph Williams, graduate transfer Sincere Brown and sophomore Dre’Lon Miller. Former North Crowley star Quentin Gibson, a freshman, has also shown flashes this season.
In the backfield, Colorado still hasn’t developed much of a run game, but sophomore Micah Welch is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and the Buffaloes have also found success using Miller in a role similar to one TCU used with Savion Williams last year. Miller has provided a small boost to the run game as a wildcat quarterback.
Buffaloes’ chances rest on QB Kaidon Salter
Ultimately, Colorado’s chances will come down to the play of senior quarterback Kaidon Salter. The Liberty transfer was already benched once this season and failed to capitalize on game-changing opportunities last week against BYU.
Salter can be dynamic outside of the pocket, but hasn’t shown consistency with getting the ball to Colorado’s playmakers in space.
Colorado may have a deeper roster, but the Buffaloes are still missing the star power of Hunter and Sanders.
Colorado also won’t be able to sneak up on TCU this time. The question is, will that lead to a different result than the 2023 season opener?
