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New Year’s Resolutions
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I was never one for making New Year’s Resolutions … that was until, of course, I started CU at the Game, and needed good filler Essays during the holidays.
This off-season, with the Buffs coming off of a 3-9 campaign, and with the roster down to around 35 returning scholarship players, it’s pretty difficult right now to look at the upcoming season with optimism.
That being said, the holidays are supposed to be about positive outlooks, and starting the New Year with a clean slate.
Toward that end, here are my New Year’s Resolutions …
In Coach Prime We Trust … for at least one more season …
As the 2025 season wound down, with Coach Prime going “0-for-November” for the second time in his three seasons in Boulder, the Colorado head coach didn’t mince his words about the need for CU to do better going forward:
“I want you to understand. If anybody is built for adversity, I am. If anybody is built to change, I am. If anybody’s built to overcome situations and trials and tribulations, I am. You got the right man. I promise you, you do. And I’m going to prove that to you. Just give me an opportunity and give me a little more time and I’m going to prove that to you. I will.”
It’s nice language, and I am as guilty as anyone (perhaps more than most) who gets sucked in when listening to Coach Prime talk. He is very comfortable in front of a microphone, and when he’s talking, it’s very easy to buy whatever it is he is selling.
But the reality is that, if Coach Prime was anyone other than Coach Prime, he would be on the hot seat heading into the 2026 season. Colorado is just 16-21 under Coach Prime in his three seasons in Boulder. Yes, Coach Prime’s record is better than was Coach Mac’s record for his first three seasons [Bill McCartney was 7-25-1 in his first three campaigns, yet earned a contract extension during Year Three, with the Buffs going 1-10 that fall], but these aren’t the mid-80s, and Colorado can’t go through a complete rebuild year-after-year and hope for sustained success.
As it stands, Colorado will have to add a minimum of 40 players to its roster this spring, a huge restart even if a few cornerstones, like quarterback Julian Lewis, offensive lineman Jordan Seaton, and defensive lineman London Merritt remain in place.
Oh, and adding to the drama … with no spring Transfer Portal this season, the CU coaching staff will have to cobble together its new lineup in record time. The Transfer Portal opens officially on Friday, January 2nd. The problem? Spring classes at CU start on Thursday, January 8th. While there is a little wiggle room to add new players in time for spring eligibility (students at CU are allowed to add classes until January 16th), if Colorado is to have enough bodies on its roster to even conduct spring practices, there needs to be a huge influx of new players the first week of the New Year.
With the Transfer Portal trackers already having over a thousand names of players looking for new homes (including over 20 Buffs) still a week before the Portal even officially opens, the concept of a “dead period” in recruiting players doesn’t exist.
Tampering is no longer a punishable offense – it is expected and demanded.
Ralph Russo is a writer for The Athletic website. Before joining The Athletic, he was the lead writer for college football for the Associated Press. On a podcast this past week, Russo indicated that a Power Four coach he had spoken with told him that their team had not only identified players they were targeting in the Transfer Portal, but had already made deals to get the players they wanted.
Welcome to the unrestricted world of college football, 2026.
We have to assume that Coach Prime and his staff are not only aware of the brave new world of Transfer Portal acquisitions, but are active participants.
Coach Prime’s Transfer Portal Class of 2025 was ranked 19th nationally, but many of the top players were misses.
Long story short … Coach Prime has to replace the majority of his roster … He has to do it in record time this January … He has to have a Transfer Portal Class ranked at least as high as his previous Class … and … most importantly, he has to hit on most of the transfers he signs.
In Coach Prime We Trust.
But, if he doesn’t come through with significant roster additions in the next month, CU’s new athletic director may be looking for a new head coach this time next year.
In the CU Administration (and Boosters) We Trust … at least for one more season …
“Show me the money!!”
I wasn’t among the hand-wringers who panicked when it was reported that CU might face a $27 million deficit this fiscal year. When you add a few million dollars to your coaching budget, and add in over $20 million in new NIL commitments – with no commensurate increase in income – you are going to run a deficit.
During his 13-year run, outgoing CU athletic director Rick George has done an excellent job of balancing the books, and I have confidence the fiscal year will not end up with the oversized deficit currently being projected.
The thing is … CU’s problem is not managing to break even.
CU’s problem is not being able to find a donor – or donors – to make the program flush.
Arizona State, which has had greater success on the field than CU of late, is still looking under the cushions trying to figure out a way to stay competitive. Head coach Kenny Dillingham, in signing a contract extension, was blunt:
“We live in Phoenix, Arizona. You’re telling me there’s not one person who could stroke a $20 million check right now?” Dillingham said after agreeing to a new contract worth more than $37 million over the next five years.
Irony aside, CU is falling behind in the game of “We have multi-million dollar donors, too!”.
Coach Prime hasn’t minced words in this area, either:
“You’ve gotta understand when a guy leaves a program that selected him, or got him out of the portal. He leaves for a multitude of reasons. The number one reason people leave is money. It’s not a disdain for staff or players. It’s money — let’s just be honest, man. Let’s stop sugarcoating this foolishness.”
Well, if money is all it takes … where’s CU’s Phil Knight? Or T. Boone Pickens? Or Mark Cuban? Or Cody Campbell?
In case you missed it, someone won the $1.7 billion Power Ball this week … and it wasn’t me.
Colorado needs an influx of cash, and the signs are not positive that the cash is there.
The Transfer Portal officially opens on Friday, January 2nd. From that date forward, the 2026 Colorado football team – with 40 or more new players – will emerge.
Perhaps Coach Prime is sitting on a pile of donated cash, and has already made multiple deals to bring in new talent. We can have that hope, but, with almost half of the players with remaining eligibility announcing that they are leaving … that leads one to believe that if CU had sufficient cash to build and sustain a competitive roster, that some of that cash would have already been allocated for the purpose of retaining some of the young talent already on the team.
But, my New Year’s Resolution is to trust the administration, and the boosters, to come through and buy the Buff Nation a competitive roster.
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I am resolved to ring in the new year with optimism about the future of Colorado football.
I am resolved to remain optimistic that Coach Prime has a plan, and that he will bring in assistant coaches and players able to execute that plan.
I am resolved to remain optimistic that the CU fan base will come through with sufficient funding to bring in talent which can restore glory to the Colorado football program, and that CU’s administration will devise new and clever means by which to raise more money, and maximize the dollars which are received.
We won’t have to wait long to see if these resolutions will be easy to keep, or difficult. By the end of January, we’ll know if Colorado has added 40 players who will bring victories in the fall … or 40 players who are the best CU could afford, with the resulting disappointing consequences.
Bring on 2026! …
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