20 Buffs predictions for 2023

2023 is shaping up to be a year to remember for fans of the Colorado Buffaloes. Coach Prime is completely re-shaping and re-doing the football program and Tad Boyle has Buffs basketball on a role when it comes to the recruiting trail. Both programs are in great shape. With that being said, here are 20 predictions ahead of 2023.

1. Cormani McClain commits to the Colorado Buffaloes

Let’s start 2023 with a bang. According to 247sports.com, McClain is the top cornerback recruit and the ninth-best recruit overall in the country. He recently announced at the Under Armour All-American game that he will be committing on January 15th. Interesting statement considering that he has been committed to Miami since October 27th and the Buffs are setting up a massive weekend for recruits and transfers to visit campus on January 13th-15th. McClain wants to play as a true freshman and go to a school that can develop him into an NFL player. He would absolutely play as a freshman at CU. With Coach Prime, defensive coordinator Charles Kelly and cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis; Colorado has multiple coaches with NFL experience and experience developing college football players into great NFL players.

2. ESPN’s College Gameday comes to Boulder

The Buffs haven’t played in a game involving College Gameday since September 13th, 1997 when the 8th-ranked Buffs traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines. The last time College Gameday was in Boulder was in 1996 for Michigan vs. Colorado. It’s time for College Gameday to return to Boulder and with Coach Prime leading the way, it seems like that will only be a matter of time. In 2023, Colorado has home games against Nebraska, Colorado State, Arizona, Oregon State, Stanford and USC. Against Nebraska for Coach Prime’s first home game seems pretty fitting.

3. The Buffs beat both Nebraska and Colorado State

The Buffs haven’t played Nebraska or Colorado State since they beat both in 2019. In 2023, both are coming to Boulder. Colorado and Coach Prime are coming in 2023 as well.

4. Van Wells and Nikko Reed will be Week 1 starters

Both Wells and Reed were standout players for the dismal 2022 Buffs. Wells earned All-Freshman PFF First Team honors and Reed was thrust into a starting position with limited experience and became Colorado’s best corner. While Colorado has brought in experienced players through the transfer portal along the interior offensive line and at cornerback, Wells and Reed are legitimate Power 5 football players and will continue to play as such.

5. Travis Hunter will primarily play wide receiver

I recently broke down Travis Hunter’s game and gave my thoughts on where he should focus while at CU in last week’s Buffs Film Room. What it boils down to is how Hunter played in the Celebration Bowl, his final game at JSU. The chemistry that Shedeur Sanders and Hunter have is obvious and it’s worth finding out how good Hunter can be at wide receiver if he focused there. I certainly expect that he will continue to play both ways at CU, but I’d expect him to make the most impact at wide receiver for Colorado.

6. The DNVR Buffs Podcast goes fishing with Travis Hunter

Hunter is an avid fisherman and RK has been adamant on this front. We want to deliver this content to Buff Nation as badly as you want it.

7. Jordyn Tyson will have a 50+ yard play in his first game back

Tyson went down with a season-ending knee injury against Oregon in 2022 and interim head coach Mike Sanford told the media that he would be very surprised if Tyson doesn’t play for the Buffs at some point in 2023. Tyson was a big play threat for the Buffs whenever they could get the ball to him last season. Now with Sheduer Sanders leading the way at quarterback, Tyson will see a steep increase in opportunities to make big plays.

8. Dylan Edwards has at least five 50+ yard plays as a true freshman in 2023

The four-star 2023 recruit was the fastest player at the 2023 Under Armour All-American Game. Edwards outran five-star EDGE Nyckoles Harbor to earn the title. His high school highlight tape is an endless reel of big plays and long touchdowns that suggest he will immediately be one of the fastest and most dynamic players in the Pac-12. We’ll see how much playing time he earns in his true freshman season, but it’s hard to imagine Edwards doesn’t have a few big plays in 2023.

9. Sheduer Sanders has 25+ TD passes

Colorado hasn’t had a signal caller pass for more than 20 touchdowns in a season since Sefo Liufau’s 28 in 2014. In 2021, Shedeur Sanders threw for 30 touchdowns and topped that mark with 40 touchdown passes in 2022. Sanders will get to play with the most talented receiving corps of his career, the chance to play in a Sean Lewis offense and is entering his third collegiate season in 2023. 25 is the benchmark but this has a chance to be a rather underwhelming prediction if the stars align for Sanders and the Buffs next year.

10. Shedeur Sanders earns All-Pac-12 honors

To piggyback off the previous prediction, Shedeur Sanders will be honored with an All-Pac-12 selection next season. The Pac-12 is the conference of quarterbacks with Caleb Williams, Michael Penix and Bo Nix locked in for 2023. Utah quarterback Cam Rising is returning for his senior season next year also. But as I highlighted in the Shedeur Sanders Buffs Film Room, he has the talent to have a tremendous season in his first year as a Power 5 quarterback.

11. The Buffs go bowling in 2023

The Buffs last went to a bowl game in 2020 when they lost to Texas in the Alamo Bowl. Going to a bowl game should be the benchmark for the team this season and would prove that this rebuild is progressing as expected.

12. Buffs basketball will emerge as a top-half Pac-12 team

Men’s basketball was a wild ride for Buff Nation in 2022. The Buffs have been maddeningly inconsistent but KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva have surely taken steps in their development this year. As this team grows and matures throughout the rest of this season, a late-season in-conference run in 2023 is not unfeasible. Factor in the recruiting class that Tad Boyle and staff have coming in for the 2023-2024 season and the Buffs should be on pace to be one of the more talented and imposing teams in the conference as soon as next season.

13. Cody Williams will be Pac-12 freshman of the year

Williams is one of six five-star recruits that will be joining the Pac-12 next season. According to 247sports.com, Williams is the best incoming recruit to commit to Colorado since Josh Scott in 2012. The competition will be fierce for this accolade, but Williams’ talent is off the charts and he should be an instant contributor for Colorado.

14. Colorado will have a top-25 offense in the country in terms of plays per game and yards per game

Back to football. When Sean Lewis was the head coach at Kent State and had Dustin Krum as his quarterback, the Golden Flashes had one of the fastest and most productive offenses in college football. In Krum’s final year with Lewis in 2021, Kent State ranked 5th in the country in yards per game (494.6), 10th in plays per game (75.1) and 30th in points per game (33.0). Now armed with a Power 5 roster and a great college quarterback in Shedeur Sanders, Colorado and Lewis will have one of the best offenses in the country next season.

15. Sean Lewis will earn a Power 5 head coaching gig

To build off of the last prediction, Sean Lewis’ great 2023 season will earn him a Power 5 head coaching job. Coach Prime made waves throughout the college football landscape by buying Lewis out of his head coaching contract at Kent State to be Colorado’s offensive coordinator. Lewis has already seen success as a head coach and after he rebuilds and transforms Colorado’s offense in 2023, he will be in high demand for Power 5 schools that decide to go in a different direction at head coach in 2024.

16. Coach Prime wins Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer won the award in 2022 for his dramatic turnaround of the Huskies from 4-8 in 2021 to 11-2 in his first season at the helm. Coach Prime’s impact has already been felt through the transfer portal, on the recruiting trail and in terms of the value he will add to the conference when it comes to the new media rights deal. If he can turn Colorado into a bowl team and go even further by winning 8+ games, Coach Prime will be a lock for Coach of the Year.

17. This time next year, the Buffs 2024 transfer class will be ranked top 5

As it currently stands, the Buffs have the second-best transfer class in the country for 2023 according to 247sports.com. Travis Hunter is a massive factor as he is the only former five-star player to enter the portal this off-season, so far. The chances of another player of Hunter’s entering the portal caliber are low, but you never know in today’s age of college football. Coach Prime has brought in 20 players via the portal this year and has attacked the transfer portal unlike anything we’ve seen in college football. After the nation catches on to what he is building in Boulder and witnesses his first season as a Power 5 head coach, expect CU to be a transfer hotspot once again in 2024.

18. Coach Prime will bring a top 5 recruiting class to Colorado in 2024

As things currently stand, Colorado only has three four-stars and 18 players committed for the 2023 recruiting class. Given the late start Coach Prime has on the rest of the nation this year, it’s easy to imagine next year’s class will be ranked even higher. Coach Prime and his staff are already offering the very best players in the 2024 class and have found themselves firmly in the conversation for multiple top-100 recruits. Give Coach Prime and his staff a full year to recruit at the Power 5 level and expect to see the Buffs at the top of the charts for the best recruiting classes in the country.

19. The 2024 recruiting class will have three five-star recruits commit to CU

According to 247sports.com, there are 27 five-star recruits in the 2024 class. Coach Prime has already offered Mike Matthews, KJ Bolden, Micah Hudson, TJ Capers, David Stone, Kameron Davis, Justin Scott, Elijah Rushing and Sammy Brown. All 2024 five-star recruits. Colorado has only earned the commitment of three five-star recruits in the modern era and should match that number in 2024 alone.

20. The Buffs earn a top 25 ranking at some point in the 2023 season

Pre-season top 25 may be a stretch, but a top 25 ranking could be possible if Colorado gets off to a hot start in 2023. Starting with the supposed opening game at TCU, Colorado has a chance to make an immediate impression and prove to the rest of the country that they are coming. An upset win over TCU alone would be enough to earn a top 25 ranking as soon as week 2 but if the Buffs start hot and win all their non-conference matchups, this prediction could become true sooner rather than later.