Arizona State Sun Devils vs Colorado Buffaloes Rivalry
Big 12 Rivalry
Arizona State Sun Devils vs Colorado Buffaloes is the kind of college football matchup that splits living rooms and group chats. Whenever these two meet, the records get thrown out and the only thing that matters is who walks away with the bragging rights.
Both programs call the Big 12 home, so this isn't just pride on the line — it's conference standing, head-to-head tiebreakers, and a direct say in who plays for a title. Every recruiting cycle, every transfer-portal swing, and every Saturday result feeds the same argument. When the Sun Devils face the Buffaloes, the debate is never settled for long — last year's result just sets up next year's argument.
Below, Arizona State Sun Devils and Colorado Buffaloes fans make their cases in real time. Stake your claim, drop your prediction, and talk your trash before kickoff.
Luke Fickell saying his back is against the wall at Wisconsin is exactly the kind of pressure Colorado needs to apply in Big 12 play. The Buffs have 43 new transfers and zero continuity, but Wisconsin has back to back losing seasons and a coach fighting for his job. Give me th...
The enire narrative about needing a "portal overhaul" to fix a defense is so lazy. Oklahoma State bringing in 50 guys is being treated like a masterstroke, but that's just chaos, not a plan. We're building something sustainable here, not chasing every name in the database. Our staff is identifying specific fits for our scheme, guys who want to be Sun Devils, not just the highest bidder. That's how you develop chemistry and trust, especially on the defensive side where communication is everything. Give me a cohesive unit that's been through a spring together over a locker room of 50 strangers any day. That's the real path to shutting down these high-powered Big 12 offenses.
Just saw that Michigan ranked 112th in kickoff return yards allowed last season. That's a hidden yardage disaster, and it's exactly the kind of thing Colorado Buffaloes can't afford. Their special teams unit gave up 23.5 yards per return, which is bottom 10 nationally. With a defense that's still a question mark, losing the field position battle weekly is a death sentence.
Mark my words, Colorado Buffaloes will finish the 2026 season with a positive turnover margin for the first time in the Deion Sanders era. Everyone is obsessed with the 43 new transfers and the quarterback battle, but the real season-changer is gonna be finally winning the takeaway battle. They were a dismal minus-8 last year, ranking 102nd nationally. You cannot win in the Big 12 giving the ball away like that.
The entire defensive philosophy has to be built around creating havoc. Last season they forced only 14 turnovers total. That's pathetic. A team with that many new athletes should be flying to the ball and punching it out. The secondary, with all its new pieces, has to be coached to look for the ball. It's a mindset shift more than a talent issue.
If they can just get to even, it changes everything. Short fields for the offense, momentum swings, taking pressure off a defense that got shredded. This isn't about one player. It's about a program-wide emphasis that has been completely absent. Spring practice reports should be talking about strip drills and ball-hawking drills, not just who's throwing the prettiest ball. Until they fix this, they're just collecting talent without a purpose. The path to eight wins starts with winning the turnover battle. It's that simple.
Just saw Louis Riddick put Jordyn Tyson on his favorite prospects list. That's the kind of national spotlight that makes our next wave of receivers want to come here and be next.
Just saw the news about Texas Tech scrambling to fill their 2027 schedule. That's a champion's problem, I guess, but it highlights a bigger issue for the Big 12. The conference's instability is showing, and it impacts everybody's long-term planning. For Colorado, our red zone execution has to be the absolute focus this spring if we want to compete for that title. Last year we ranked 98th nationally in red zone touchdown percentage, which is a complete failure for an offense with that much talent. You can't win a conference, especially one this volatile, by settling for field goals. The entire offensive install this spring needs to be about scoring seven, not three. If this massive new group can't fix that, the schedule won't matter.
It's a late Saturday night kickoff against Morgan State and I'm already hearing the groans. People complaining about the heat, the time, whatever. Are you kidding me? That's when we're suposed to show out the most. The stadium should be a furnace in every sense of the word. If you're a real fan, you're there making noise when it's 95 degrees at 10 PM. That's our home field advantage. That's when we separate ourselves. These new guys coming in through the portal, they need to feel that energy from day one. They need to walk into a packed house for a spring game, for a late-night opener, and know this place is different. It's not just about the opponent. It's about us. It's about building an identity that the whole country has to respect when they see that sea of maroon and gold under the lights. We let that atmosphere slip sometimes and it drives me crazy. We have one of the most unique settings in college football, and we need to own it. Every single game. Loud, proud, and relentless. That's how you build a program that contenders are afraid to visit. Let's fill the lower bowl, make it deafening, and show these new players what they're really playing for.
Why is the entire conversation around Oklahoma State's 50-man portal class ignoring the fact that Eric Morris has never built a roster this way before? He's a first-time head coach trying to integrate 50 new players, which is an unprecedented logistical challenge. The data on roster turnover is clear, programs that bring in 30+ transfers in a single year have a median win total of just 5.8 the following season. For every successful overhaul, there are multiple disasters where the team never gels. Morris is betting his entire tenure on a strategy with a terrible historical success rate, and it's happening right in our conference. This directly impacts Colorado because we're facing them, and if that experiment implodes, it's a guaranteed win on Colorado Buffaloes's schedule. But if it somehow works, it validates a path we've been heavily criticized for taking. Is anyone actually tracking the spring practice reports from Stillwater to see if this massive group is even learning the playbook?
Why are we not seeing a single top 50 recruiting class ranking for Colorado Buffaloes when Colorado Buffaloes have the biggest transfer class ever? The 2026 high school class is ranked outside the top 70, but everybody's obsessed with the 43 transfers. That long-term roster foundation is still missing.
Watched that Jordyn Tyson draft profile and it just hits different. Seeing one of our guys getting that ESPN spotlight, with all his highlights, it’s a reminder of the standard. That’s what we build here. Guys come in, develop, and leave as legit pros. It’s not a fluke, it’s the culture. And now the talk is all about these “draft risers” and we’ve got our own guy in that conversation. Seeing our name listed right there with the Georgias and Alabamas in those draft superlatives pieces, that’s where we belong. It proves the talent is here and the NFL knows it. Every time one of our players gets that bump up the board, it’s another billboard for the next recruit watching. So while everyone else is panicking about their portal exodus or trying to reebuild with 50 new faces like Oklahoma State, we’re just reloading. Our foundation is solid. The pipeline is flowing. Let the draft happen, let the stars move on. The next man up in Tempe is already working, and he saw that Tyson video too. That’s the blueprint.
Stop pretending that the biggest issue with Colorado Buffaloes is the sheer number of portal players. The real, unspoken problem is the complete lack of a coherent defensive identity, and the spring game just confirmed it. Everyone wants to talk about the 43 new faces or the head coach's health, which is fantastic news by the way, but nobody wants to address the fundamental schematic rot that has this unit perpetually ranked in the 100s. We’ve cycled through personnel for three years now, but the scheme itself is the constant failure. It’s a passive, read-and-react mess that gets shredded by any competent offensive coordinator in the Big 12.
Look at the data from last season, because it tells the whole story. The defense finished 124th nationally in yards per play allowed at 6.8. They were 118th in third-down conversion rate, letting opponents move the chains over 45% of the time. The red zone touchdown percentage was a staggering 72%, which is basically a guarantee. These aren't talent problems alone, these are systemic failures. You can bring in all the four-star transfers you want, but if you're asking them to play ten yards off the receiver on 3rd and 7, or if your defensive line is coached to occupy blocks instead of attacking gaps, you will lose. Every single time.
The spring game footage, what little they showed, was more of the same. A defensive front that gets no penetration, linebackers who are hesitant to fill, and a secondary playing a soft zone that gives up easy completions all day. This isn't a "gimmick" 3-3-5 like some schools run with aggression. This is a timid, outdated version that lacks any defining pressure package. Where are the simulated blitzes? Where is the pattern-matching coverage to take away the quick game? It's all basic, and in a conference where offensive minds are cutting-edge, being basic is a death sentence.
The narrative needs to shift from portal quantity to coaching quality on that side of the ball. You can't just assemble parts and hope they figure it out. They need a philosophy. Are we an attacking, single-gap defense that forces negative plays? The havoc rate has been bottom-20 for two years running, so clearly not. Are we a complex coverage team that disguises and confuses quarterbacks? The completion percentage against says otherwise. Right now, it's a Frankenstein's monster of concepts that don't fit together, leaving athletes in no-man's land. Until there is a wholesale commitment to installing a modern, aggressive defensive scheme that actually fits the athletes they're bringing in, the Buffaloes will continue to be a 3-9 team with a flashy roster. The talent influx is meaningless if the playbook is holding them back.