The Colorado Buffaloes (2-1) host the Baylor Bears (2-1) on Saturday at Folsom Field for the first time in 26 years. This game marks the beginning of a new era for the Buffs, as it will be their first Big 12 conference game since 2010.
The Buffs are coming off a strong showing against their in-state rival, Colorado State (1-2), last weekend, handling the Rams 28-9 in a game that wasn’t competitive after halftime. Wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter was the star of the game, tallying 13 receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception on the defensive side of the ball.
All eyes will be on Hunter, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, again as he leads the Colorado defense up against the Baylor offense this weekend, which will be led by either Dequan Finn or Sawyer Robinson. The two have split the reps so far at the quarterback position, but it’s clear that the offense is much more dynamic with Finn at the helm.
Robinson started in their win against Air Force last week, throwing for 248 yards on 18-for-24 passing. He didn’t play in the team’s loss against Utah and only threw five passes in their Week 1 win. Against Utah, Finn was 9-for-21 with 115 yards and a touchdown after throwing for 192 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the season opener.
Colorado head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders said the team is preparing for both quarterbacks on Saturday.
The only formidable opponent the Bears have played against is Utah. In that game, Utah’s offense only led two true scoring drives, totaling 10 points, while its defense forced a fumble that handed the offense the ball in a goal-to-go opportunity, and blocked a field goal that was returned for a touchdown.
Baylor is a turnover-prone team, as it has thrown two interceptions in the first three games and fumbled the ball seven times, losing four of those. Colorado needs to take advantage of this, just like the Colorado State game, to give themselves an advantage.
The Bears haven’t seen a passing offense as dynamic as Colorado’s, however. The Bears defense has only defended 46 passes in three games. For context, Shedeur Sanders threw 49 passes in a single game last week against Colorado State.
If the Buffs can attack the sidelines, whether with quick hitches to Hunter and Will Sheppard or deeper fades, they should see success as Baylor struggled to defend the sidelines against Utah. Everyone knows that the CU passing game is lethal, but the X-factor will always be the offensive line.
If the pass protection and the running game hold up like they did in Fort Collins this past week, the Colorado offense should be humming. What they can’t afford is a third straight slow start. The Buffs haven’t scored first yet this season, and haven’t scored in the first quarter since Week 1. As the Buffs start to play better teams the deeper they get into the season, they can’t keep affording to put themselves in a hole early if they want to string together some victories.
For the running game, expect the same starting five on the offensive line with Tyler Brown at left guard and Philip Houston at right tackle. Running back Dallan Hayden’s status is up in the air, but he is trending to miss his second consecutive game due to injury. True freshman Micah Welch showed last week that he is more than capable of carrying the ball through contact, as he averaged 7.2 yards per carry in his collegiate debut. He’ll split carries with Isaiah Augustave again, who averaged 5.2 yards per carry last week.
On the other side of the ball, Robert Livingston and the Colorado defense have played phenomenal football in the past six quarters, allowing just nine points. Against the Rams, they finally started forcing turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble), the one thing that they hadn’t had success with in the first two games.
The two-headed snake of Nikhai Hill-Green and Lavonta Bentley at linebacker have been dominant in the run game through three games. They are tied for third on the team with 15 tackles, and dominated the previous game with big hits from Hill-Green and a forced fumble from Bentley that looked like taking candy from a baby. Bentley was the highest graded linebacker in the country in Week 3, per Pro Football Focus.
With another injury on the front line to tackle Taurean Carter (tackle Chidoze Nwankwo is likely to miss his second consecutive game), the defensive line is going to have to dig deep and push the Bears’ offensive line back to force them into uncomfortable situations.
Every single week this year, the X-factor for the Colorado Buffaloes is going to be the front line on both sides of the ball. Against Colorado State, they played great, and the Buffs won convincingly. Against North Dakota State, they played alright, and the Buffs won a close one. Finally, against Nebraska, they played terrible, and the Buffs got trounced.
These units have the talent to be great. The question is, do they have the cohesion and mental strength to be great?
The game kicks off from Folsom Field on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT and will be televised on Fox.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
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