Dan Mullen Predicts Where Colorado Will Finish In The Big 12 Next Season

The 2024 college football season is almost upon us. And for the second year in-a-row, Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are receiving hype as one of the sport's most intriguing programs.

Preseason hype aside, former Mississippi State and Florida head coach Dan Mullen has the Buffaloes finishing near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference this season, specifically No. 11, in his preseason conference predictions .

Colorado rose to stardom in the first year of the Sanders era after a 3-0 start to the 2023 season. Two-way phenom Travis Hunter looked liked one of the best players in the nation and quarterback Shedeur Sanders was in the early Heisman Trophy conversation. However, the train was derailed just as quickly as it started. Colorado lost eight of its final nine games including a string of six losses to end the season.

There's a clean slate for the Buffaloes in 2024, though, as they take on a new conference with Sanders and Hunter returning as headliners.

Mullen projects Oklahoma State and Utah to play for the conference title with the Utes coming out on top and earning an automatic College Football Playoff bid. Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Arizona, UCF, Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU are listed above the Buffaloes, while Baylor, Arizona State, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU round out the 16.

It's hard to evaluate just what the program will look like exactly after revamping most of its roster from a year ago. Colorado brought in 43 players and lost 41 via the transfer portal. That facet creates a lot of unknowns, but the preseason expectations are lofty regardless.

Either Colorado exceeds expectations and pulls of its first winning season since 2016, or the strength of the conference suffocates Sanders and company in Year 2. The challenge will begin when Colorado welcomes North Dakota State to open the season on Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN).

Related: Big 12 Contender Names Starting Quarterback For 2024 Season