Now past the halfway point of the season, with old question marks slowly getting remedied with each passing week, the road ahead is clearing for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Maybe, just maybe, a special season is unfolding.

The Deion Sanders-led Buffs made another emphatic statement on Saturday, dominating Arizona for a 34-7 road win that keeps CU among the Big 12 front-runners.

It was as complete a performance as, well, a few weeks ago in a win at Central Florida. But that’s two dominant road statements over the course of three games, sandwiched around a narrow home loss against a fellow conference contender.

Coach Prime promised to have the Buffs competing for championships. They’ll have that opportunity the rest of the way.

Arizona might be one of the most disappointing teams in the Big 12, but at this stage of the schedule, that doesn’t matter. Only the W’s matter, and after getting win No. 5 on Saturday, the Buffs are well-positioned to be a factor down the stretch in the Big 12 race.

Why? Let us count the ways.

The defense. In terms of answering the preseason question marks, the one regarding the defensive front is getting erased a little further with every Buffs’ sack. CU recorded seven sacks in Tucson. That makes 16 in the past three games. Even with Shilo Sanders still rounding into form after his injury setback, and Travis Hunter playing only the first half at Arizona, the Buffs still are finding new play-makers in the secondary — Colton Hood enjoyed a second straight week of explosive plays — and the players up front are following suit.

The offensive line. The unit has shown signs over the past month of improved prowess in the run game. It’s starting to do the same in pass protection. I’ve been as critical as anyone regarding CU’s inability to protect quarterback Shedeur Sanders. But maybe they’re coming around. Shedeur was sacked on his first dropback of the game at UA. But, for once, this wasn’t the same old story. He wasn’t sacked again against a Wildcats defense that entered the game with 11 sacks in the previous five games. It might’ve been the fewest bruises Shedeur has incurred with the Buffs. The surest sign things might be different with this Buffs team? For maybe the first time in the Deion Sanders era, the Buffs walked off the field owning the superior offensive line performance. By a landslide.

The coaches. Of all the portal acquisitions during the offseason, the addition of Robert Livingston as defensive coordinator and Pat Shurmur’s promotion to full-time offensive coordinator have paid huge dividends. Livingston’s influence on the defense has been so impactful, if the Buffs keep this pace he should be a contender for the Broyles Award as the top assistant in the nation. Shurmur had some questionable play-calling moments early but has settled into a groove with Shedeur Sanders and a rejuvenated run game.

The schedule. With some of the Big 12’s most impressive teams so far, like BYU and Iowa State (going into its Saturday night home game against UCF), not on CU’s schedule, the door is wide open for the Buffs. Cincinnati is not to be overlooked next week, but the Buffs are at home. After a bye, a showdown at Texas Tech looms, but the previously Big 12-unbeaten Red Raiders showed they very much are beatable after suffering a 59-35 thumping at home against Baylor. CU then finishes with three teams battling Arizona for the Big 12’s most disappointing team in Cam Rising-less Utah, at Kansas, and Oklahoma State.

There’s more. The Buffs have been strong on the road, winning three straight road games for the first time since 1996. In a game when Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. remained limited, LaJohntay Wester and Will Sheppard combined for 12 catches and 181 yards. The improved roster depth touted during the offseason has become a reality, as even injuries to Horn, Hunter and Shilo Sanders haven’t been crippling. The Buffs are curtailing their penalties and also have improved on special teams.

And there’s Shedeur Sanders. CU has one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but the most encouraging takeaway from his game in Tucson is that he was less than his best, yet the Buffs still won going away on the road.

As Texas Tech learned against a Baylor team that had not yet won a Big 12 game, anything can happen on any given week. The Buffs aren’t good enough to roll through the rest of the schedule, but the same can be said of any of the remaining opponents.

Nothing will be a given. But every game remains winnable, and the Buffs have the look of a team getting better every week.