Bowl games have been few and far between for Colorado during its Pac-12 tenure. The Buffaloes have played beyond the end of the regular season just twice since 2011—both Alamo Bowl losses to Oklahoma State (2016) and Texas (2020).
It’s a stark departure from the Buffaloes’ proud postseason heritage. Colorado, which went to a bowl game nine times in the 1990s and won six bowls in a row from 1993 to ’99, has not won a bowl game since topping UTEP in the 2004 Houston Bowl.
The Buffaloes are two wins from wrapping up a bowl trip in 2023, thanks to a scorching 3–0 start in September, but coach Deion Sanders isn’t thinking that far ahead.
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“We want to win,” Sanders said Tuesday. “I don’t give a darn about no bowl right now. We want to win. If that’s part of the package at the conclusion of the season of winning—I’m all for it … But that’s one of my least concerns right now is a bowl.”
Colorado hosts a Stanford team in rebuilding mode Friday night; if the Buffaloes beat the Cardinal, bowl eligibility could be on the line as soon as Oct. 28 against UCLA.
