Houston is headed to Boulder for a Week 11 road test against Colorado, and it’s a first for the program. The Cougars will make their first-ever trip to Boulder, Colorado in program history carrying a 7-2 record and a 4-2 mark in Big 12 play. Colorado, meanwhile, comes in at 3-6 overall and 1-5 in conference action.
On paper, the Buffaloes sit near the bottom of the league, ranked 13th out of 16 in the Big 12. But the record doesn’t tell the whole story. Colorado has been more competitive than its numbers suggest, especially when the opposition has been strong, and that makes this a tricky road assignment for Houston even with the Cougars sitting at No. 14 in the AP Poll.
The Buffaloes are coming off a 20-10 loss at Arizona State last week. Before that, they pulled out a 27-24 overtime win at home against Kansas State. Their best showing may have come against Utah, one of the top three teams in the country, when Colorado pushed the Utes to the edge in a 27-24 home loss in Week 7.
Colorado also hung around with Texas Tech longer than the final score suggested. The Buffaloes trailed only 12-7 heading into the fourth quarter and were down just 7-3 at halftime before the game finished 29-7. Houston will be the third-best team by record that Colorado has faced this season, so the Buffs have already shown they can make things uncomfortable for quality opponents.
Deion Sanders is in his fourth season leading the program, and Colorado’s offense still has a dangerous piece in junior receiver Joseph Williams. Williams ranks second in the Big 12 with 853 receiving yards and 58 catches, and he has added six touchdowns. At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, he’s the biggest threat Houston has to account for on that side of the ball.
Quarterback Isaac Wilson, a junior transfer from Utah, has had a tougher go of it. He has thrown for 1,412 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, while completing 62 percent of his passes. Colorado’s passing game has been more dependable than its ground attack, but the offense as a whole has still struggled to put points on the board, ranking last in the Big 12 at 19.8 points per game.
The defense has had its own issues. Colorado is giving up more than 28 points per game, which leaves it 13th in the conference on that side of the ball.
Still, the Buffs do bring some pressure, ranking fourth in the Big 12 with 24 sacks. They’ve also been vulnerable in pass protection, allowing 21 sacks themselves.
One defender Houston will need to track closely is senior linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron. He leads the Buffaloes with 99 total tackles and has added 5.5 sacks and four passes defended.
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