In their return to the Big 12, Colorado football could finish the regular season with a 10-2 record and earn a berth in the conference title game. Their final four opponents, Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas, and Oklahoma State, have a combined record of 15-19. Last season, the four teams had a combined record of 34-19. Meanwhile, their most convincing conference win of the season, a 34-7 road win against the Arizona Wildcats, came against a team owning a 3-6 record. Last season, they went 10-3. With the “Big 12” having 16 teams and college football having loose transfer portal rules, immediate roster reconstruction can flip a team’s production in just one season.
Colorado football has a 2024 conference schedule sans BYU, Iowa State, and Arizona State, three Big 12 teams with a combined record of 20-4. The only team in the top half of the conference standings to face the Colorado Buffaloes this season, the Kansas State Wildcats, beat them 31-28. With Colorado’s strength of schedule, many fans believe they are overrated and undeserving of placement in the AP Poll Top 25. However, with that logic, does undefeated Indiana not deserve recognition because, as of this weekend, they have avoided conference juggernauts Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State? Absolutely not.
Colorado Football Deserves Their Flowers Despite Strength of Schedule
According to an early October tweet from Barstool Colorado:
Colorado currently has the toughest strength of schedule in the country.
Before the start of the 2024 season, five of Colorado football’s final seven opponents were ranked in 2023. Three of those teams won at least nine games, which was highlighted by double-digit winning campaigns by Arizona and Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, Vegas set Nebraska and UCF, two of their earlier season opponents, at 7.5 wins in the offseason. Instead, UCF and Nebraska are fighting for bowl eligibility, Oklahoma State and Arizona are on a combined 11-game losing streak, and Kansas is 1-4 in the conference. Additionally, the preseason Big 12 favorite Utah, who lost quarterback Cam Rising for the season, is riding a four-game losing streak.
Colorado is 6-2 on the year, and yes, they do not or will not have a top-25 win this regular season. Nevertheless, going into the season, they were eying a gauntlet in a new conference, but with the Big 12 adding schools, a team can’t play each league member. It is not Colorado football’s fault that the most formidable teams on their schedule went backward.
Fans, pundits, and the College Football Playoff Committee should also apply the same logic to the Indiana Hoosiers. It is not their fault that they could go 11-1 this season (future loss to Ohio State) and not earn a victory over a top-25 team. Last season, Washington and Michigan played in the College Football Playoff, and they were a combined 10-8. Blame the college football landscape that allows programs to experience massive ebbs-and-flows, but don’t blame Colorado or Indiana for exceptional turnarounds.
Meanwhile, the ultimate trump card for Colorado and Indiana doubters is the signal-caller. Stellar quarterback play remains the best way to stack wins, and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke has 19 touchdowns to three picks, while Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has 21 touchdowns against six interceptions.
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2 Comments
Fair point, you can only beat who is in your schedule.
Yep, non-con schedules are made years in advance too. As for conference play, it’s not up to them.