Colorado — Big 12
PPA off / def
0.08 / 0.19
2025
Class rank
#67
class of 2026
Returning PPA
14%
returning production
| 2011 |
OSU W 37–17 | Columbus |
| 1986 |
OSU W 13–10 | Columbus |
| 1985 |
OSU W 36–13 | away |
| 1976 |
OSU W 27–10 | Columbus |
| 1971 |
OSU L 14–20 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (3–9)
Statistical comps — 2025 Colorado's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (42 in / 38 out)
Origins
McCartney's 1990 team won the national title, aided by a fifth down against Missouri that officials never took back. Deion Sanders arrived in 2023 and made Boulder the loudest story in the sport.
Founded 1876 · Chartered the same year Colorado became a state · first football 1890 · defined by Bill McCartney
All-time record
All-time
682–530–35
1902–2025
Win %
56.1%
124 seasons played
Winning seasons
76
61% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 1994 | 11 | 1 | Big 8 |
| 1990 | 11 | 1 | Big 8 |
| 1989 | 11 | 1 | Big 8 |
| 1996 | 10 | 2 | Big 12 |
| 1995 | 10 | 2 | Big 8 |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1902 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 274 | 59% |
30% | 135 of 136 | 4.6 | 11% |
| 2nd down | 229 | 47% |
38% | 113 of 136 | 5.3 | 9% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 38 | 68% |
68% | — | 4.8 | 8% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 41 | 12% |
34% | — | 5.6 | 7% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 74 | 22% |
27% | — | 7.8 | 19% |
| 4th down | 19 | 68% |
37% | — | 1.6 | 5% |
150 drives · 27% ended in points · 6.8 plays and 31.8 yards per drive · 0.45 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 4 | Wyoming |
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Sincere Brown for 68 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK) |
68 | 6.91 |
| 2 | Delaware |
Ryan Staub pass complete to Sincere Brown for 71 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK) |
71 | 6.84 |
| 7 | Iowa State |
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Omarion Miller for 70 yds for a TD (Alejandro Mata KICK) |
70 | 6.25 |
| 10 | Arizona |
Omarion Miller 59 Yd pass from Julian Lewis (Alejandro Mata Kick) |
59 | 5.53 |
| 14 | Kansas State |
(00:41) Shotgun #3 K.Salter pass complete short right to #4 O.Miller caught at KSTATE39, f… |
38 | 4.84 |
| 13 | Arizona State |
(14:28) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 J.Lewis pass complete short right to #9 S.Brown caught at CO… |
33 | 4.43 |
| 7 | Iowa State |
Kaidon Salter pass complete to Joseph Williams for 38 yds to the ISU 33 for a 1ST down |
38 | 4.31 |
| 11 | West Virginia |
(14:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 J.Lewis pass complete deep left to #4 O.Miller caught at WVU… |
43 | 4.28 |