Deion Sanders and Colorado get a useful Saturday without even taking the field.
With the Buffaloes on bye in Week 6, their next three opponents are all in action, giving Colorado a chance to watch Utah, Oklahoma State and Kansas State before the schedule brings them directly into the spotlight. And this isn’t just idle scoreboard-watching. The matchups line up neatly with some of the Buffaloes’ biggest issues: scoring in the red zone, generating takeaways and finding answers on defense.
Colorado enters the break at 2-3, averaging only 18.6 points and converting touchdowns on six of 14 red zone trips. That makes the details from these games matter. How teams finish drives, how they defend mobile quarterbacks and how they handle pressure should all be useful clues for what the Buffaloes need to clean up.
The first one to circle is No. 12 Utah hosting Kansas at 8:15 p.m.
MT on ESPN. Devon Dampier is leading the Big 12 in passing efficiency, and Wayshawn Parker has already found the end zone nine times, with four of those coming as receiving touchdowns.
For Colorado, the obvious thing to track is how Utah gets Parker involved.
Kansas brings a different kind of stress test. The Jayhawks are averaging 254 rushing yards, while Utah is giving up just 84 on the ground per game. That sets up a strong measuring stick for Colorado’s defense, especially with mobile quarterback Isaiah Marshall involved in the Kansas attack.
Utah coach Morgan Scalley made it clear Monday that Marshall’s game is built on physicality.
“He’s not afraid of contact and doesn’t necessarily slide or avoid it,” Scalley said.
That makes Kansas worth watching in two separate ways: whether its run game is opening lanes through the blocking, or whether Marshall is creating them on his own. Those are not the same problem, and they don’t get solved the same way. Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve can also pay attention to how Utah handles the second half.
“Iowa State’s kind of the one time where coming out of halftime, I thought, OK, we’re not as clean as we need to be,” Scalley said.
One uneven half doesn’t prove much, but if it shows up again, that’s the kind of detail Colorado can use.
The next stop is Stillwater, where No. 18 Oklahoma State hosts UCF at 10 a.m.
MT on ESPN2. The Cowboys are putting up 548.3 yards per game, which ranks second nationally, and quarterback Drew Mestemaer is steering the offense.
For Colorado, the key question is how UCF tries to bother him without giving away easy shots downfield.
Turnovers are another angle here. Oklahoma State has coughed it up eight times, while UCF has forced 10 turnovers.
That’s the kind of matchup that can reveal real takeaway opportunities, not just lucky bounces. Colorado could learn plenty by seeing how those mistakes happen.
The bigger issue for Oklahoma State may be on the ground. West Virginia ran for 335 yards against the Cowboys, and the latest official preview lists Oklahoma State at 96th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 158.8 yards per game. Eric Morris said the answer begins there.
“Starts with stopping the run and earning the right to defend the pass,” coach Eric Morris said while previewing UCF.
For Colorado, though, the most useful part may be what happens near the goal line. If UCF keeps finding ways to finish drives, that would offer a more relevant lesson for a Buffaloes offense that has struggled in the red zone than a few splash plays between the 20s.
Then comes Kansas State hosting No. 22 Houston at 1:30 p.m.
MT on FOX, and that one gives Colorado another look at two future opponents at once. Kansas State leads the nation in passing yards allowed at 106.3 per game and is the only FBS team that has not given up a sack.
Houston’s offense presents its own problems. Conner Weigman has thrown 11 touchdowns and only one interception, and the Cougars lead the nation in third-down conversion rate. Kansas State coach Collin Klein, who coached Weigman at Texas A&M, explained why that combination can drag out drives.
“He’s kept drives alive and threatens people with his legs,” Klein said Monday.
That’s where Colorado can zoom in on process instead of just numbers. Defensive end Toby Anene has three sacks, but getting after Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson is about more than raw pressure.
Colorado should be watching whether Houston can force hurried throws while still keeping Johnson contained in the pocket. A sack total by itself won’t tell the full story.
Houston coach Willie Fritz put it plainly: “That’s a lethal combination when a guy can run also as a quarterback.”
For Colorado, Saturday is less about the final scores than the details buried inside them. The Buffaloes have three future opponents on display, and each one offers a different lesson tied directly to the problems they need to solve.
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The pressure in this one is not hard to identify. Utah has been setting the pace in conference play on both sides of the ball, and the Jayhawks are walking into an environment where mistakes tend to get magnified quickly. ESPNs Matchup Predictor sees the gap clearly, but for Kansas the challenge is less about the number and more about proving it can hang with a team built to control the game from start to finish. [Read more 🡒]