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We simulated the Buffs’ season on College Football 26. Here’s how it went.
The new college football game is finally here, and so far, fans are loving it. While nobody knows how Colorado’s real season will play out this fall, we can at least see how things might go in the digital world.
To gain a realistic understanding of how the Buffs could perform, I conducted three full-season simulations in College Football 26 and recorded the results. For each game, I used the most common outcome across all three simulations to build a full projected season.
In this article, we’re going to walk through that simulated season week by week, break down how Colorado’s top players performed, how the team fared overall, and what the Big 12 standings looked like by the end of the year. It’s not real football, but it’s about as close as we can get at this point—so let’s dive in.
Week 1: vs Georgia Tech - Win (1-0)
Coming as a bit of a surprise to me, the Buffs beat the Yellow Jackets in all three sims. Currently, Georgia Tech is favored to win this game by around 4.5 points, depending on the sportsbook. If the Buffs can come away with a win against Georgia Tech, they will more than likely start 2-0, as their next game is a tune-up game at home against Delaware.
Week 2: vs Delaware - Win (2-0)
As expected, the Buffs beat Delaware in convincing fashion in all three sims. The Blue Hens are a new addition to FBS, joining C-USA for the 2025 season. EA must be taking that into account, as they are the lowest-rated team in all of FBS. This game should be a morale boost leading into the first road game of the season at Houston.
Week 3: at Houston - Win (3-0)
In all three simulations, the Buffs will stay undefeated. Colorado scrapes by against Houston in all three games despite being on the road in an extremely hostile environment. The Buffs will get to head home for an easier match-up next week against Wyoming.
Week 4: vs Wyoming - Win (4-0)
Wyoming shouldn’t be a threat to the Buffs this season, but in one simulation, the Buffs scraped by 17-16. Despite this, the Buffs pulled out a win in all three simulations and remain 4-0. However, this is where things start to get a bit messy.
Week 5: vs BYU - Loss (4-1)
The Buffs lost in all three simulations against BYU. This isn’t unlikely, especially after seeing the routing that occurred in last year's Alamo Bowl. Waiting until week five to take your first loss is certainly something to be proud of, but bouncing back in Fort Worth next week will be a challenge.
Week 6: at TCU - Win (5-1)
In two out of the three simulations, the Buffs bounce back from their loss with a big win in their game against the Frogs. This also marks the first time the simulations disagreed on the outcome of the game, which will be the case for every game from here on out. The Buffs now move to 5-1 and will travel back to Boulder to play Iowa State.
Week 7: vs Iowa State - Loss (5-2)
In two of the three simulations, the Buffs take a loss at home against Iowa State. The Cyclones were one of the best teams in the conference last year and are expected to keep up that momentum, so this doesn’t come as a surprise.
Week 8: at Utah - Win (6-2)
In the simulation, the Buffs get a much-needed win at Utah. They won in two of three simulations, managing to barely scrape by in those two wins. Utah will most likely have a better year than they did in their disappointing 2024 campaign, but let’s hope the Buffs can pull out a win in Salt Lake. Bowl eligibity by week eight? Not too shabby...
Week 9: vs Arizona - Loss (6-3)
Ouch. This one stings.
Despite Arizona’s downward trajectory, CFB 26 predicts the Wildcats beat the Buffs in all three of their simulations against them. Arizona gets a big-time win in their push for a bowl game, as Colorado can’t best Noah Fitita and a revamped Brent Brennan offense.
Week 10: at West Virginia - Win (7-3)
No flaming couches this year. The Buffs move to 7-3 with a win over West Virginia in two of three sims. This game in Morgantown will be a tough game for the Buffs, so I’m surprised that they got out of a hostile environment with a win. Their next game will be against reigning conference champs Arizona State, as they head back home to Folsom.
Week 11: vs Arizona State - Loss (7-4)
The Buffs suffer a devastating loss at home against Arizona State, and move to 7-4 in the simulation. CU lost in all three simulations, as they can’t seem to stack up against a stacked Sun Devils squad. They’ll have one more chance to redeem themselves next week in Manhattan.
Week 12: at Kansas State - Loss (7-5)
Colorado can’t get the job done in the Little Apple, falling to the Wildcats in their regular-season finale. This would be a step back for the Buffs after their 9-win campaign in 2024, but a bowl game is on the table.
Summary:
Sim 1: 5-7 (2-7)
Sim 2: 10-3 (6-3), Won Alamo Bowl against Georgia Southern, Ranked 20
Sim 3: 8-5 (4-5), Won Frisco Bowl against Memphis, Unranked
On average: 7-5 (4-5), Win a bowl game
Big 12 Conference Winners:
Sim 1: Kansas State
Sim 2: Baylor
Sim 3: Texas Tech
National Champions:
Sim 1: USC beats Penn State
Sim 2: Texas A&M beats Penn State
Sim 3: Texas beats Penn State
Top Performer:
Sim 1: Omarion Miller 1200 yards 13 TDs
Sim 2: Kaidon Salter 3800 yards, 34 TDs, 2 Ints
Sim 3: Kaidon Salter 3600, 34 TDs, 5 Ints
Takeaways:
The biggest takeaway from these simulations is that Colorado’s season will live and die by the arm of Kaidon Salter. With how deep the Big 12 is this year, the Buffs face a brutal conference slate and can’t afford inconsistent quarterback play.
Salter doesn’t need to be perfect, but he does need to be steady. In each sim, his performance directly impacted the outcome of close games, and oh boy, there were a lot of those. There’s no question the Buffs have talent on both sides of the ball, but without a reliable leader under center, that ceiling gets much lower. Based on these simulations, the range of possible outcomes feels wide. But if there’s one thing this team can’t afford, it’s uncertainty at quarterback.
by Jacob.Thompson
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