“Nothing got better from last year”: Joel Klatt unsatisfied with Deion Sanders and Colorado’s Week 1 victory vs. North Dakota State 

Colorado opened the 2024 college football season with a narrow 31-26 win at home over FCS program North Dakota State. The Buffaloes are seeking redemption this season following the struggles of 2023 where they ended with a 4-8 record despite winning the first three games.

While Deion Sanders’ team secured a win in Boulder on Thursday, former player-turned-analyst Joel Klatt was not impressed. The analyst projected the Buffs as one of the likely dark horses in the Big 12 during the offseason but the performance at Folsom Field made him realize nothing has changed.

“I'm not riding high with Colorado. I was convinced in this offseason that we were going to see a Colorado team that had gotten better. Better at the line of scrimmage, better on defense, better in situations and better in the game plan,” Klatt said on ‘The Joel Klatt Show." (1:53)

“And what I watched on Thursday night was two elite stars (Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter) … Everything else is really questionable for Colorado. Nothing got better from last year.”

Joel Klatt rues Colorado’s poor run game

Colorado has had a poor run game since 2023. The team averaged 2.3 yards per carry, which is very poor for any offense. That problem remains in the team and was evident against North Dakota State, limiting the creativity of the Buffaloes offense.

Joel Klatt pointed at it as one of the flaws that could eventually be costly for the team. Despite the amount of running back talent in the team and the arrival of Pat Schumur as offensive coordinator, the run game problem remains.

“They had no creativity in the run game. The game plan in running the football has to get more creative because it's not about being dominant in the run game, it's not about establishing the run game, it's about creating easier opportunities for Shedeur to throw that football,” Klatt said. (2:39)

The Buffaloes offensive line hasn’t improved

The Buffaloes had one of the poorest offensive lines in the nation in the 2023 college football season which made Shedeur Sanders vulnerable in the backfield. He suffered the second-most sack in the FBS and something similar could occur again with little improvement.

“The offensive line was not very good, again, and that's unsustainable. The pressure rate was 30% of his dropbacks. Very similar to last year… This was an FCS team and it was 30%, that's an alarming statistic,” Klatt said. (3:53)

The Buffaloes added new faces to its offensive line during the offseason, including the likes of Jordan Seaton, Justin Mayers, Khalil Benson and a couple of others.