Deion Sanders and Fran Brown’s offseason exhibition matchup appears to be one step closer to a reality. With the coaches teasing a Colorado-Syracuse spring game during the 2025 college football offseason, both sides have taken the next step to materializing the matchup.
Amid the rumors and back-and-forth on social media, Colorado and Syracuse both filed paperwork to the NCAA to permit the spring game, according to Syracuse.com. If it happens, the matchup will presumably be nationally televised with the Buffaloes’ spring game already scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2.
Sanders initially teased the idea of Colorado playing another team in its spring game in a video addressing the team. Shortly after, Brown responded on social media, tagging ‘Coach Prime’ and expressing his interest.
Coach Prime said Spring Practices and the Spring Game vs another team is a real possibility
“This thing may very well happen…It looks really good right now”
: @DeionSandersJr pic.twitter.com/Lcsc0iNeXE
— We Coming
(@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) March 22, 2025
Teams facing each other in spring games are a rarity, particularly in the modern era. Many are instead opting not to hold the games altogether with many rosters facing constant turnover due to the college football transfer portal.
Led by two of the most unconventional coaches in college football, Colorado and Syracuse are both preparing to enter transitional years in 2025. Both teams lose their starting quarterbacks to the NFL Draft, with Shedeur Sanders and Kyle McCord both expected to hear their names called in April.
Colorado football’s new-look 2025 team
More so than Syracuse, Colorado will have to adjust to life without one of its most star-studded rosters in program history. Two-way star and 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter joins Shedeur Sanders as a potential top-10 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Buffaloes also lose the valued production of Lajohntay Wester, Jimmy Horn Jr., Shilo Sanders, B.J. Green, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Will Sheppard and Chidozie Nwankwo.
Though it is impossible to replace all the aforementioned names, Colorado has landed several key transfers from the portal. Former Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter will likely start for the Buffaloes under center in 2025, two years removed from a breakout 2023 season that earned him the Conference USA MVP award.
Deion Sanders also obtained defensive linemen Jehiem Oatis Gavriel Lightfoot, along with wideout Joseph Williams from the portal, among others. Salter’s younger brother, linebacker Kylan Salter, also joins the team after two years at TCU.
Despite the roster changes, Colorado managed to retain Deion Sanders as head coach after multiple NFL rumors. Sanders will also keep top assistants Pat Shurmur and Robert Livingston as offensive and defensive coordinator, respectively.
In his two years at Colorado, Sanders has improved the Buffaloes’ record each season. The team’s 9-4 finish in 2024 resulted in its first bowl game appearance since 2020, ending a three-year drought.
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