5 Players to Watch
CU’S best pass rusher all season, he leads the team with 5.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He has tied his career high for TFLS.
Hasn’t really made an impact since Week 1against TCU, but he seems due for a big game, and the Buffs like to get him the ball. He leads the team in rushing (268yards) and is fourth in catches (29). He averages 10.2touches per game.
Despite not having great protection, he’s been great all season. As long as he’s healthy, he’s the key to CU being able to win. Sanders is on the verge of setting several single-season school passing records.
Impactful, hard-hitting safety who is second on the team with 48tackles and tied for the Pac-12 lead with three forced fumbles. He’s forced a fumble in each of the last two games.
CU’S best receiver all year, he’ll play his final game at Folsom Field this week. Weaver has caught at least five passes in eight of nine games and he has at least 75yards in six games.
Colorado offense
After weeks of carrying the Buffs, this side of the ball is suddenly the concern. In the last 10 quarters (plus overtime vs. Stanford), the Buffs have had 34 offensive possessions and scored just five touchdowns. While Shedeur Sanders continues to do his best and excel as a passer, the run game has disappeared and the sacks continue to pile up. Sanders has been sacked 11 times in the past two weeks, and the Buffs have scored a total of 12 points (on four field goals) in quarters 1-3of those games. The weapons are there to get rolling again, though.
Colorado defense
The Buffs have put together back-to-back good weeks on defense, keeping the team in each game. They do continue to give up a large chunk of yards, especially on the ground, but they’ve come up with timely stops and takeaways. CU has created six takeaways in the last two games and have come up with some key stops in their own territory. The Buffs’ pass defense has shown improvement over the past two weeks.
Colorado special teams
Since settling in as the primary kicker, Alejandro Mata is 6-for-7 on field goals, including 6-for-6 inside 45 yards. Jace Feely has been much better at putting kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Punter Mark Vassett has been too busy lately (seven punts each of the last two weeks), but he’s been very good most of the year, averaging 44.2 yards and putting 16punts inside the 20-yard line.
How Colorado can win
Same keys as last week, in that Shedeur Sanders has to play well and the Buffs need to finally give him help. Finding success in the run game, especially early in the game, would be huge for the Buffs. Defensively, the pass defense has to step up and slow down one of the hottest quarterbacks in the conference.
Buffs notables
• During the first half of the Oct. 13game against Stanford, the Buffs ran for 123yards on 16carries. In 10quarters (and overtime) since then, they have 27 rushing yards on 62carries. Sacks are a huge part of that, as the Buffs have lost 136yards on 14sacks in that time. On non-sack rushing plays during that stretch, the Buffs have 163 yards on 48carries.
• CU has 13 players, including two walk-ons, who are in their last season of eligibility and will be playing their final home game at Folsom Field. CU is 4-8 on senior day in the Pac-12 era.
• Shedeur Sanders needs 135passing yards to reach 10,000 for his college career and 118 to reach 3,000 for this season. He’s also within reach of the single-season CU record, needing 319yards to pass Sefo Liufau’s 3,200yards from 2014.
• In 25previous games against Arizona, CU has had 14 100-yard rushers, led by Jarek Broussard’s 301 yards in the 2020 matchup. Phillip Lindsay had three of those 100yard games (2014, 2016, 2017).
• Arizona is CU’S sixth ranked opponent of the season. The Buffs are 1-14in their last 15games against ranked opponents, with the only win at No. 17 TCU in this year’s opener.
Colorado’s Jordan Domineck hits the arm of Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei as he tries to pass on Nov. 4at Folsom Field.
not just in the NFL but in college football that I leaned on that you may not even know of but they’ve been there and done that.
“I have a database of some lofty people that I could glean from. But (Fisch) is definitely a guy that I admire and respect the heck out of what he’s doing with their program.”
In the meantime, Sanders practices patience but hopes the Buffs can turn the tide soon.
“I feel like most teams they’ll be disconnected at this time,” linebacker Lavonta Bentley said. “All of us came in for a reason. We’re trying to win and get stats up and stuff like that because most of the players that’s here are trying to get to the NFL. So, we’ve got to show up each and every day, give our best effort.”
That effort has impressed Coach Prime, as the Buffs are aiming to finish the season on a high note.
“We’ve got to seize the moments,” he said. “We’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities presented and we can’t faint in the midst of adversity. We’ve got to stand tall in the midst of adversity and we’re learning that.”
Beat No. 20 UCLA, 27-10, at home
No. 23 (AP); No. 24 (Coaches); No. 21 (College Football Playoff)
5 Players to Watch
He’s been the favorite target, with a team-high 69 catches and nine touchdowns. He’s gained just 510 yards on those catches, though, averaging 7.4 yards per catch — the lowest average of any player in the country with more than 32 catches.
The redshirt freshman has taken over as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback and he’s been named the Pac-12 freshman of the week four times in the last five weeks. He has completed 76.2% of his passes for 1,521 yards, 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Leads the team with 80 tackles — 28 more than anyone else and second in the Pac-12. He also has 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Dynamic athlete has 52 catches for 753 yards (14.5 per catch) and seven touchdowns. His 83.7 yards per game rank sixth in the Pac-12.
After spending the spring with the Buffs, Upshaw transferred to Arizona and has been dominant, with 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks (third-most in the Pac-12). He has at least one sack in three straight games.
Arizona offense
Since Noah Fifita took over as the starting quarterback, the Wildcats have taken their game up a notch. They averaged 28.5 points per game the first four weeks with Jayden de Laura at quarterback and 32.6in Fifita’s five starts. Fifita has thrown for at least three touchdown passes in four of those five starts. The Wildcats still have a good run game, too, led by Jonah Coleman (565 yards). DJ Williams and Michael Wiley have been good in the run game, too.
Arizona defense
For the first time in years, the Wildcats are playing exceptional defense. They rank fourth in the Pac-12 in allowing just 19.8 points per game — a dramatic improvement over last year (36.5). They’ve already held four opponents to 10 points or less. The Wildcats rank in the top half of the conference against the run and the pass and they lead the Pac-12 in red zone defense (opponents score just 71.4% of the time). Arizona has produced 23 sacks (it had 16 all of last year)
Arizona special teams
Tyler Loop is one of the better kickers in the Pac-12, and he’s having a great season, hitting 13of-15field goal attempts with a long of 51. In his career, he’s 43-of-48 on field goals (89.6%) and a perfect 82-of-82on extra points. Punter Kyle Ostendorp is averaging 40.1 yards per punt and he’s put eight of his 20 punts inside the 20-yard line.
How Arizona can win
During their three-game win streak, the Wildcats have shown some explosiveness on offense, with Fifita leading the way.
And, more importantly, they’ve played well defensively, especially against the run. The Wildcats need to continue to play well defensively and keep Fifita rolling.
Wildcats notables
• Arizona is bowl eligible for the first time since 2017. From 2018-22,the Wildcats went 15-38 overall.
• The Wildcats have defeated AP ranked opponents in three consecutive games. They are the first Pac-12 team to do that in one season since Stanford did it four straight weeks in 2012. This is the first time ever that Arizona has won three in a row against ranked teams.
• Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch was an assistant coach for the NFL’S Baltimore Ravens in 200405 while Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was a defensive back for the Ravens.
• Arizona is 2-2 on the road this season and 6-21 since the start of the 2018 season.
• Since Fisch took over as head coach, the Wildcats are plus-4 on turnover margin in their 12 wins and minus-30 in their 21 losses.