Predicting the 2025 Colorado football season with EA Sports' College Football 26

USA Today

2 days ago

What record does College Football 26 give the Colorado Buffaloes?
Nobody quite knows what the 2025 season has in store for the Colorado Buffaloes. Can they continue to build off the success established last season, or will the losses of stars to the NFL be too significant for them to overcome?
However, with the release of College Football 26 from EA Sports, although we may not get a perfect picture, we can certainly try to gauge an idea of how the game expects this season to unfold. So as a part of our 2025 season preview at Buffaloes Wire, that's exactly what we did.
So let's jump into the virtual world of college football and see what EA Sports' simulation engine has in store for the Colorado Buffaloes, led by virtual coach Kirk Patrick.
Week 1: vs Georgia Tech, 27-20 OT win
If one thing was clear through this simulation, EA Sports thinks Colorado fans will need two things for the 2025 season: ponchos and heart medication. Trailing 13-3 at halftime, the Buffaloes rallied from behind, ultimately tying the game on a strike from Kaidon Salter to Utah State transfer wideout Jack Hestera with 1:04 left in the game.
The Yellow Jackets won the toss for overtime, electing to play defense first, but were no match for a Salter and Micah Welch-led ground attack. After Welch found paydirt, the Buffaloes' defense did their job on the ensuing possession to lift Colorado to 1-0 on the season.
Week 2: vs Delaware, 27-21 win
It was another slow start for the Buffaloes at Folsom Field, where the Blue Hens looked to pull off a stunner, leading 14-7 at halftime. However, the second half was all Salter, throwing and running for a touchdown while Welch struggled on the ground. A pair of field goals from Alejandro Mata and an interception by Carter Stoutmire sealed this one in the Buffaloes' favor, moving the team to 2-0.
Week 3: at Houston, 28-21 loss
Another rainy contest, Colorado was dominating this early Big 12 matchup at the half, 14-7. Welch had an impressive game, running for 73 yards and a score on just six carries. However, as the clock wound down, Zeon Chriss and the Cougars found their way forward, running through the heart of the Colorado defense.
Though the teams traded interceptions late in the contest, Houston took possession of the ball and a 28-21 lead into the two-minute timeout. The Buffaloes got stops on first, second, and third down, but on fourth, a 43-yard scoop from Chriss iced the Buffaloes' 3-0 dreams.
Week 4: vs Wyoming, 31-24 win
The Buffaloes must have been licking their wounds to begin this one, letting the Cowboys hang around for most of the game. Salter was excellent, bouncing back from his poor performance in Houston to complete 75% of his passes to the tune of 237 yards and a score. Colorado's defense finally stepped up and forced two fumbles, both recorded by cornerback Preston Hodge, which were key in helping the team move to 3-1 on the season.
Week 5: vs No. 11 BYU, 13-10 win
The first of the Buffaloes' matchups with a top-25 ranked opponent comes early, with an undefeated Cougars team entering Folsom Field. This game was a defensive chess match, with the Buffaloes' X-factor ultimately being Salter, who scored the only Buffaloes touchdown of the day on a pass to Omarion Miller.
Despite Welch only running for an abysmal 18 yards on 16 carries, Stoutmire made a game-sealing interception late for the Buffaloes' first win in the Big 12 Conference, and moving them to 4-1 on the year.
Week 6: at TCU, 23-20 win
Much like their 2023 contest, this was a back-and-forth battle right down to the end. Down 20-16 late in the fourth quarter, Salter marched his team down the field to get into the red zone just before the two-minute timeout. From there, the Horned Frogs' defense clamped up, forcing the Buffaloes into a desperate fourth-and-7.
Like he's done all season in the simulation, Salter remained calm and found sophomore wide receiver Joseph Williams in the end zone for a 17-yard game-winning touchdown with 1:45 left to play. Just like that, Colorado was rolling to a 5-1 start on the year.
Week 7: vs No. 16 Iowa State, 40-34 loss
I said Colorado fans would need heart medication for this season, and this was a game they should keep those meds close by. This doozy of a contest saw Colorado have plenty of opportunities to beat Iowa State, including getting the ball down six under two minutes to go. However, the cardiac Buffaloes didn't have it in them this week.
Colorado trailed for a majority of the game, which meant that Salter had to throw the ball 41 times, and it wasn't his best outing. Two interceptions, including one in the red zone, killed the momentum of the Buffaloes' offense and allowed Iowa State to escape. The lone bright spot in this one was the emergence of the so far silent Miller, who caught six passes for 144 yards and two scores.
Week 9: at Utah, 30-7 loss
Fresh off a bye week, Colorado should have walked into Rice-Eccles Stadium looking for vengeance after letting the opportunity with the Cyclones escape their grasp. Instead, they walked in half-asleep and let the Utes have their way with them.
Colorado fell behind early and stayed there, leaning on Salter to throw it 35 times, which, as we've seen, isn't a recipe for winning. Salter got his one interception out of the way early, but it was catastrophic for the team's momentum. Throw in an untimely Miller fumble, and this is one that Buffaloes fans would rather forget.
Week 10: vs Arizona, 28-14 win
If last week was when everything went wrong for Colorado, this week, it all clicked. An early interception by Wyoming transfer Tyrecus Davis gave the Buffaloes' offense the ball early, and they did not disappoint. Welch finally had a great game, running for 85 yards and a score on 24 carries.
Salter was back to his pre-Iowa State form, dealing for 199 yards, two scores and another touchdown on the ground. Stoutmarie caught his third interception of the year to seal a dominant win for Colorado over Arizona, finally putting them back on the right track.
Week 11: at No. 25 West Virginia, 20-14 loss
In a barnburner in Morgantown, this was by far Salter's worst game of the season. Two disastrous interceptions late in the game, which I'm sure had the virtual fans clamoring to see true-freshman Julian Lewis. Welch went down with an injury, which saw Dallan Hayden step into the starting role for the next two games, and he was equally as ineffective.
Miller posted another massive receiving effort, with his nine catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, single-handedly keeping Colorado in this contest. The defense held up their end of the bargain, but the offensive woes continued for the Buffaloes as they fell to 6-4.
Week 13: vs Arizona State, 30-27 win
The Colorado Buffaloes trailed 20-3 going into the locker room at halftime, struggling to produce much offense as the Sun Devils threw all over their defense. The second half continued to be a separate story as Miller put the team on his back, hauling in seven catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.
While the running game continued to struggle, Salter put together another solid performance, throwing for over 230 yards and two touchdowns. Davis caught his second interception of the year late to stifle the Sun Devils' comeback efforts and move the Buffaloes to 7-4 on the year.
Week 14: at No. 24 Kansas State, 26-24 loss
Colorado has been known for their comebacks this season, and it looked like they were on their way to another miraculous victory. Colorado took the lead with under a minute and a half left to play, with Hayden bruising his way into the endzone to give them a 1-point lead late.
While the Buffaloes' defense was fantastic in this one, with Davis, Hodge and D.J. McKinney all snagging interceptions, they folded late. A march from Avery Johnson moved the Wildcats down to the goalline, where they kicked the game-winning field goal with just 27 seconds left on the clock. Colorado's chances of a ranked finish to the season appeared to go by the wayside.
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: vs Florida State, 25-22 loss
Maybe it's prophetic that Coach Patrick's season was ended by the real Coach Prime's alma mater. Both teams traded scores in this one, and much like their game against Kansas State, Colorado held the lead late. The Salter to Miller connection was as sweet as candy, connecting seven times for 104 yards and a score.
However, even another interception from McKinney wasn't enough to hold back Thomas Castellanos and the Seminoles. Castellanos marched his team down the field using all three timeouts to score the would-be game-winning touchdown with just a hair under a minute to play.
End of season record: 7-6 overall, 4-5 Big 12
Well, that's certainly one outcome for the Colorado Buffaloes' season. It is also one I don't think many fans would be satisfied with. I'll make the disclaimer that I didn't make any changes to the depth chart; instead, I allowed things to play out as if the Week 1 depth chart were permanent. It also appears that the running stats are slightly off in the simulation engine, as no matter which running back played for the Buffs, they would not average more than 3 yards per carry.
Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith ended up winning the Heisman Trophy, and if you're wondering, Texas Tech beat Penn State 24-18 in the national championship. College Football 26 provided quite an interesting take on the 2025 season, and if it's any solace for Buffs fans, Nebraska finished 4-8, so this simulation wasn't a total loss.
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