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We simulated the Buffs’ season on College Football 26. Here’s how it went.

The new college football game is finally here, and so far, fans are loving it. While nobody knows how Colorado’s real season will play out this fall, we can at least see how things might go in the digital world.

To gain a realistic understanding of how the Buffs could perform, I conducted three full-season simulations in College Football 26 and recorded the results. For each game, I used the most common outcome across all three simulations to build a full projected season.

In this article, we’re going to walk through that simulated season week by week, break down how Colorado’s top players performed, how the team fared overall, and what the Big 12 standings looked like by the end of the year. It’s not real football, but it’s about as close as we can get at this point—so let’s dive in.

Week 1: vs Georgia Tech - Win (1-0)​

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Coming as a bit of a surprise to me, the Buffs beat the Yellow Jackets in all three sims. Currently, Georgia Tech is favored to win this game by around 4.5 points, depending on the sportsbook. If the Buffs can come away with a win against Georgia Tech, they will more than likely start 2-0, as their next game is a tune-up game at home against Delaware.

Week 2: vs Delaware - Win (2-0)​

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As expected, the Buffs beat Delaware in convincing fashion in all three sims. The Blue Hens are a new addition to FBS, joining C-USA for the 2025 season. EA must be taking that into account, as they are the lowest-rated team in all of FBS. This game should be a morale boost leading into the first road game of the season at Houston.

Week 3: at Houston - Win (3-0)​

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In all three simulations, the Buffs will stay undefeated. Colorado scrapes by against Houston in all three games despite being on the road in an extremely hostile environment. The Buffs will get to head home for an easier match-up next week against Wyoming.

Week 4: vs Wyoming - Win (4-0)​

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Wyoming shouldn’t be a threat to the Buffs this season, but in one simulation, the Buffs scraped by 17-16. Despite this, the Buffs pulled out a win in all three simulations and remain 4-0. However, this is where things start to get a bit messy.

Week 5: vs BYU - Loss (4-1)​

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The Buffs lost in all three simulations against BYU. This isn’t unlikely, especially after seeing the routing that occurred in last year's Alamo Bowl. Waiting until week five to take your first loss is certainly something to be proud of, but bouncing back in Fort Worth next week will be a challenge.

Week 6: at TCU - Win (5-1)​

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In two out of the three simulations, the Buffs bounce back from their loss with a big win in their game against the Frogs. This also marks the first time the simulations disagreed on the outcome of the game, which will be the case for every game from here on out. The Buffs now move to 5-1 and will travel back to Boulder to play Iowa State.

Week 7: vs Iowa State - Loss (5-2)​

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In two of the three simulations, the Buffs take a loss at home against Iowa State. The Cyclones were one of the best teams in the conference last year and are expected to keep up that momentum, so this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Week 8: at Utah - Win (6-2)​

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In the simulation, the Buffs get a much-needed win at Utah. They won in two of three simulations, managing to barely scrape by in those two wins. Utah will most likely have a better year than they did in their disappointing 2024 campaign, but let’s hope the Buffs can pull out a win in Salt Lake. Bowl eligibity by week eight? Not too shabby...

Week 9: vs Arizona - Loss (6-3)​

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Ouch. This one stings.

Despite Arizona’s downward trajectory, CFB 26 predicts the Wildcats beat the Buffs in all three of their simulations against them. Arizona gets a big-time win in their push for a bowl game, as Colorado can’t best Noah Fitita and a revamped Brent Brennan offense.

Week 10: at West Virginia - Win (7-3)​

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No flaming couches this year. The Buffs move to 7-3 with a win over West Virginia in two of three sims. This game in Morgantown will be a tough game for the Buffs, so I’m surprised that they got out of a hostile environment with a win. Their next game will be against reigning conference champs Arizona State, as they head back home to Folsom.

Week 11: vs Arizona State - Loss (7-4)​

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The Buffs suffer a devastating loss at home against Arizona State, and move to 7-4 in the simulation. CU lost in all three simulations, as they can’t seem to stack up against a stacked Sun Devils squad. They’ll have one more chance to redeem themselves next week in Manhattan.

Week 12: at Kansas State - Loss (7-5)​

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Colorado can’t get the job done in the Little Apple, falling to the Wildcats in their regular-season finale. This would be a step back for the Buffs after their 9-win campaign in 2024, but a bowl game is on the table.

Summary:​

Sim 1: 5-7 (2-7)

Sim 2: 10-3 (6-3), Won Alamo Bowl against Georgia Southern, Ranked 20

Sim 3: 8-5 (4-5), Won Frisco Bowl against Memphis, Unranked

On average: 7-5 (4-5), Win a bowl game

Big 12 Conference Winners:​

Sim 1: Kansas State

Sim 2: Baylor

Sim 3: Texas Tech

National Champions:​

Sim 1: USC beats Penn State

Sim 2: Texas A&M beats Penn State

Sim 3: Texas beats Penn State

Top Performer:​

Sim 1: Omarion Miller 1200 yards 13 TDs

Sim 2: Kaidon Salter 3800 yards, 34 TDs, 2 Ints

Sim 3: Kaidon Salter 3600, 34 TDs, 5 Ints

Takeaways:​

The biggest takeaway from these simulations is that Colorado’s season will live and die by the arm of Kaidon Salter. With how deep the Big 12 is this year, the Buffs face a brutal conference slate and can’t afford inconsistent quarterback play.

Salter doesn’t need to be perfect, but he does need to be steady. In each sim, his performance directly impacted the outcome of close games, and oh boy, there were a lot of those. There’s no question the Buffs have talent on both sides of the ball, but without a reliable leader under center, that ceiling gets much lower. Based on these simulations, the range of possible outcomes feels wide. But if there’s one thing this team can’t afford, it’s uncertainty at quarterback.

by Jacob.Thompson
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Coach Prime and Andre Hart are on a recruiting role

Deion Sanders and linebackers coach Andre Hart are back at it again, snagging yet another commitment from a big-time linebacker recruit, this time from the likes of four-star standout Rodney Colton Jr.

With Colton’s commitment to Boulder, the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder from Newnan, Georgia, becomes the third linebacker from the 2026 recruiting class to become a Buffalo in the last month and the second in as many weeks.

Colton’s decision to come to Boulder is a huge boost for the Buffs, as he’s currently ranked as the 239th best overall player and 15th best linebacker in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports. Colorado’s newest linebacker has the speed, size and athleticism to do whatever Hart calls upon him for, adding a dynamic presence to the defense.

Buffs fans witnessed what an elite linebacking corps can do for a program in 2024, as Nikhai Hill-Green and Lavonta Bentley were a major reason why CU had one of the Big 12’s best defenses. With more transfers like Jacksonville State’s Reginald Hughes and UTSA’s Martavius French filling in at linebacker for the Buffs during the 2025 season, homegrown players like Colton should be able to slide into that role in the coming years.

Along with safety commitment Preston Ashley, Colton becomes Colorado’s second four-star player to come to Colorado for next year’s class. 247 ranks Colton as the highest-ranked recruit that the Buffs have landed thus far.

Welcome to Boulder, Rodney! We’re glad to have you here!

by RylandScholes
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CU went 6-0 against my six "easiest" opponents last year - will the Buffs have the same luck this fall? ... Delaware and Wyoming are CU's two layup games on the 2025 calendar, but after that? ...

Stuart
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Sanders wants to level the playing field.

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders showed up to Big 12 Media Day in Frisco with plenty of opinions, and he wasn’t afraid to let them be known.

When asked by a reporter during his mainstage interview about what he’d change about the current college football climate, Prime Time took the baton and ran with it.

Sanders touched on a plethora of topics, such as his desire to ban above-the-knee biker pants without pads, add pro rules like requiring two feet to be inbounds on a catch, but his comments on wanting to add a salary cap to the college game stole the show.

“There’s gotta be a salary cap on this stuff because this stuff is going crazy,” Sanders said. “Nobody knows where it’s gonna land or where it’s gonna end. There are so many different doors.”

During the Big 12 coaches roundtable, sitting alongside all 15 of the conference’s coaches, Sanders doubled down, saying that stricter regulations would level the player field for non-powerhouse programs outside of the Big Ten and SEC.

“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said at the roundtable. “A top-of-the-line player [should make] this [much money], and if you’re not that type of player, you know you’re not gonna make that. That’s what the NFL does. The problem is if you’ve got a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him half a million dollars, you can’t compete with that. It doesn’t make sense.”

Sanders came with evidence to back up his claims as well, in the form of the 2024 College Football Playoffs. The brand-new 12-team format was packed with some of the most expensive rosters in all of college football, where Ohio State, which notoriously spent upwards of $20 million on its roster, ended up walking away with the national championship.

“We are talking about equality,” Sanders said. “All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you’ll understand darn well why they’re in the playoffs. It’s kind of hard to compete with someone who’s giving $25 to $30 million to a darn freshman class. It’s crazy.”

Additionally, Sanders said he wanted to tackle the issue of tampering within college football, which has become an increasingly common trend in the age of NIL.

Earlier this spring, Sanders publicly called out the University of Virginia for allegedly tampering to try to flip multiple Colorado players to Charlottesville, including running back Isaiah Augustave, who actually committed to the Hoos before once again jumping ship to South Carolina. Since then, the tampering issue has seemingly really struck a chord with Coach Prime.

“I would see a player who said they got an offer from another school [when they aren’t in the transfer portal],” Sanders said. “I’m trying to figure out why [the NCAA’s] not investigating it and how is that possible when the guy’s not even in the portal... I think we need to be upright and upstanding.”

Sanders capped off his time in Dallas with one simple point: the math doesn’t add up. College football is currently in an era akin to the Wild West, where essentially anything goes in terms of player compensation. Naturally, that creates a plethora of unfair advantages, which Sanders isn’t a fan of. More regulation around spending would help Sanders’ Colorado teams make the climb to the top of the polls, making his hardline stance at media day crystal clear.

“What’s going on right now doesn’t make sense,” Sanders said. “You’re going to see the same teams at the end [of the College Football Playoff], and somebody who sneaks up there. The team who pays more is going to be there.”

by RylandScholes
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The Buffs landed another potential playmaker.

Not long after landing linebacker Carson Crawford, the Colorado Buffaloes have the verbal commitment of three-star safety D’Montae Tims.

2026 3 ️ S D’Montae Tims commits to Colorado Welcome H ME #SkoBuffs #UpTheSko pic.NOPE/LXKQNgi31e

— KeepItRealBuffs (@keepitbuffs) July 10, 2025​

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Tims comes from Armwood High School outside Tampa, Florida. The 6’0, 195-lbs. safety had previously committed to Missouri, but decommitted in April. Colorado courted him alongside Georgia, Miami and a handful of Big 12 schools.

According to John Garcia, Jr. at On3, Tims is a late-riser who impressed teams with his versatility and work ethic. He played both safety and slot cornerback, leading the Buffs to believe he can make a difference in nickel formations.

Tims has a good feel for the ball and recorded more than a few pass breakups, interceptions and fumble recoveries. He also has good closing speed and is physical both as a tackler and playing the ball, as he targets receivers’ arms and hands when making a play on the ball.


Welcome, D’Montae!

by Sam Metivier
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