Why isn't Colorado playing this week? Taking a closer look at Buffs' 2023 season schedule

The Colorado Buffaloes and Deion Sanders are going for their bye week in Week 8 of college football, which means Coach Prime and his players have a week to reassess their season and try to go back to their winning ways after last week's debacle against the Stanford Cardinal.

A bowl invitation is pretty much still on the cards for the Buffs this year, with a 4-3 record being a vast improvement over last season's 1-11 record.

While wilder dreams of college football playoffs and Heisman Trophies are no longer in the mind of those at Colorado, a bowl season and maybe a bowl win are more than worthy achievements for a team that was thrown together during the transfer portal.

Coach Prime needs to work on his team's discipline though. They got flagged 17 times for a loss of 127 yards in their 46-43 loss to the Cardinal in Week 7. They also looked lifeless in the second half in which they only managed to score seven points to Stanford's 26.

The secondary looked unable to contain Elic Ayomanor, who had 294 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions. In overtime, he made a mockery of Travis Hunter, stealing the ball out of his helmet for a 30-yard touchdown reception that was critical to win the game.

Stanford's Ashton Daniels threw for 396 yards with four touchdown passes.

The protection problems continued for Shedeur Sanders, and he again got sacked five times, given the little cover he's afforded by his O-line. His natural ability is undeniable. Regardless of his sacks, he once more threw for 400 yards with five touchdown passes. He also had one interception.

What's next for Colorado?

In Week 9, the Buffaloes travel to Los Angeles to face the UCLA Bruins. Currently, the Bruins are No. 25 in the country, and they face Stanford in Week 8 of college football.

If they manage to hold on to their ranked status for another week, they'll be the fourth-ranked opponent of Colorado this year.

The Buffs opened their year with a victory over the then-ranked TCU Horned Frogs but lost back-to-back games to Oregon and USC in Weeks 4 and 5.

Week 10 would potentially bring another ranked opponent in the form of the currently No. 12 Oregon Beavers.