Colorado is a football state once again, which is how it should be

Football in Colorado is back.

This is how it should be.

After a brutal drought of mostly bad football over the last decade, the Denver Broncos, CU Buffs and CSU Rams are all rolling.

The Broncos smacked the Atlanta Falcons 38-6 this past Sunday, setting themselves up in a good position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

CU is once again the story in college football, but this time for all the right reasons. Deion Sanders has the Buffs storming toward the Big 12 Championship Game and potentially the College Football Playoff. CU has won four games in a row to get to 8-2 on the season and 6-1 in conference player. Boulder was beautiful on Saturday morning, as Colorado pulled away from Utah in a 49-24 victory.

And don’t look now, but CSU appears to be back as well. The Rams won the Border War with Wyoming 24-10, and are now 5-0 in the Mountain West. After a tough 2-3 start, Jay Norvell’s squad has rebounded nicely and has conference championship dreams of their own.

Isn’t this fun?

The Rocky Mountain State loves all sports. Let’s not get that twisted. The Avalanche and Nuggets delivering us titles over the last three years was insanely special. But things just feel right when there’s good football being played in Colorado.

After all, we’re a bit spoiled. From John Elway and Peyton Manning, to the Buffs in the 1990s, our state has been blessed by high level ball over the last 40 years.

But there’s no doubt things had gotten a little rough. Luckily, Sean Payton, Coach Prime, Travis Hunter, Bo Nix and Shedeur Sanders are here to save the day. And yes, a few players up in Fort Collins too.

You have to start with the Broncos because they’re the king in this town and always will be. It seems Payton hit a home run with Nix, despite him being the sixth QB off the board in last spring’s NFL Draft.

The growth this young man has shown through 11 games is truly remarkable. He doesn’t even look like the same QB that went to Seattle in Week 1 and struggled against the Seahawks. Or the guy who played the Steelers at home in Week 2.

That’s a couple of things. First of all, Nix has a ton of raw talent that Payton rightly identified. He’s more athletic than anyone could’ve imagined, and Nix has a stronger arm than people gave him credit for.

Second, it’s coaching. Payton is proving once again he’s a quarterback whisperer. Nix wouldn’t get this much better this fast unless Payton knew what he was doing. He’s proving to be worth every penny the Broncos invested in him.

Meanwhile, the great Coach Prime experiment led by CU AD Rick George is working brilliantly. He’s truly embraced his role as CEO, letting his coaches teach the X’s and O’s while he leads the program.

And oh, it doesn’t hurt that Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are arguably the two best players in college football. They’ll both be top-5 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, and might even go No. 1 and No. 2 overall. The duo is that good.

Finally, even though CSU is regarded as “little brother” by a lot of Colorado sports fans, it’s nice to see them playing great. A lot of folks bleed Green and Gold, and their patience is being rewarded.

Are a Super Bowl or national title coming to Colorado this winter? Probably not, but the foundation is being laid. In the Broncos case, that’s obvious. Yes, at CU Shedeur and Travis will move on, but Coach Prime has an open invitation to stay as long as he wants.

It’s November, and the Broncos, Buffs and Rams are all relevant. That’s a nice change of pace, and frankly how it should be this time of year.