College football
STANFORD VS. COLORADO RECORDS: Stanford 4-2, 2-2 Pac-12. Colorado 5-2, 3-1 Pac-12. KICKOFF: Noon Saturday, Stanford Stadium. TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Networks, KTCT 1050, KZSU 90.1.
SERIES HISTORY: Stanford has never lost to Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12, going 3-0 by a combined score of 138-17. In last year’s 42-10 rout, Christian McCaffrey threw his only career touchdown pass and racked up 220 all-purpose yards. Stanford has won five in a row against Colorado overall.
STORYLINES: Stanford continued its streak of never losing more than two in a row under sixthyear coach David Shaw by beating Notre Dame last Saturday. Now the question is whether the Cardinal can begin stringing together some wins. “We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot with fumbles, penalties and missed field goals,” Shaw said. “Those are things that we don’t have here. Those are things that we don’t accept here. We have to not do things that hurt us.” … Coach Mike MacIntyre’s career arc at Colorado appears to be mirroring his three-year stint at San Jose State, where he was 6-19 in his first two seasons before leading the Spartans to a 10-2 record in his final season. MacIntyre was 10-27 in his first three seasons at Colorado, but this season the Buffaloes have turned a corner. They are tied with No. 19 Utah for first place in the Pac-12 South. “They took multiple teams to the fourth quarter last year but just couldn’t seem to finish the game,” Shaw said. “This year they’re playing confident, making plays and winning games.”
STANFORD INJURY UPDATE: FB Daniel Marx is out. OL David Bright is doubtful. RB Christian McCaffrey and CB Alijah Holder are questionable.
STATS THAT MATTER: Colorado has scored at least 40 points in every game it has won and has been held below 20 points once this season. Stanford, by contrast, has yet to crack 30 points. … Cardinal cornerbacks have returned interceptions for touchdowns in back-to-back games. Frank Buncom returned one 26 yards for a score against Washington State, and fellow sophomore Quenton Meeks had a 50-yarder against Notre Dame. Senior strong safety Dallas Lloyd also had interceptions in each game. … The Buffaloes are led by TB Phillip Lindsay, who is coming off a 219-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance against Arizona State. The junior leads the Pac12 with nine rushing touchdowns.
STANFORD WINS IF: Its defense is as stingy as it has proved it can be. Take away the losses to Washington and Washington State, when the Cardinal surrendered a combined 86 points, and Stanford has allowed a paltry 11.5 points per game. The Cardinal got back to its miserly ways against Notre Dame, yielding 10 points.
STANFORD LOSES IF: Its offense continues to struggle, especially in the early going. Stanford has not scored a first-half touchdown since Sept. 10 against USC and has not scored more than 20 points in a game since beating UCLA on Sept. 24. In its past four games the Cardinal has scored five touchdowns at times when outcomes were in doubt, and three of those were scored by the defense.