After snapping their losing streak, the Buffaloes are halfway to a six-win goal with four games left.
Making a bowl game is still in their path, but Colorado has to take it one week at a time. It won’t be an easy task.
A familiar opponent looms ahead: the Arizona State Sun Devils. Coach Kenny Dillingham was hired as the head coach before the 2023 season, just like Colorado’s Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders.
The two have held a close relationship with mutual respect guiding the matchup. The Buffs (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) will look to put together back-to-back wins, and the Sun Devils (4-4, 2-3) will try to bounce back from a loss last weekend.
Coach Prime believes his opponent this week is solid in all three phases of the game. But his team will be preparing for what they’ve seen on film.
Buffs Defensive keys:
Dillingham has a plethora of weapons to be alert for.
“Special teams is tremendous. Offensively, they have a couple of receivers and a running back that are really good…They're really, really good football players, and they can move the ball either way,” Sanders said. “The quarterback got to pull the trigger. We hope to eliminate him from doing so.”
Getting after the quarterback is a recipe that worked for the Buffs against Kansas State last weekend. They had five total sacks and tried their best to stay over top with coverage.
Like the Wildcats, ASU is going through a quarterback change, rolling with their freshman Jake Fette to get the start this Saturday.
However, EDGE Yamil Talib and the defense are prepping for any potential QB’s that may come into the lineup. Talib, who had two sacks in his last outing, is hungry to do the same on the road.
“It's not the play calls; it’s the play style,” Talib said. “So no matter who lines up in front of us, we're going to be the same defense and attack and do what we do.”
ASU has two elite pass catchers: Reed Harris (804 yards, 8 TDs) and former Buff Omarion Miller (427 yards, 3 TDs). They combine well with running backs Cardae Mack (523 yards, 6 TDs) and Carson Brown (343 yards, 1 TD) to create an offense that isn't easily gameplanable around one person.
That heightens the importance of getting after the quarterback and stopping the run, to create better opportunities for CU’s secondary. Safety Ben Finneseth acknowledges how difficult it is to scheme against the Sun Devils.
“ASU is a great team. They fight, they play hard. They're athletic,” Finneseth said. “They're a great team, and it's gonna be a good matchup. We got to bring our A game, and I'm excited for the fight. It's gonna be a good competition.”
Buffs Offensive Keys:
Coach Prime also sees a defense that can be aggressive. Although they’re giving up an average of 29.5 points per game, the respect still stands.
“Defensively, they're sound; they play good football,” Sanders said. “They want to keep the ball in front of them and rally to the football and try to eliminate our running game.”
The run-game matchup will be a big point of emphasis this week.
The Buffs ran for 222 yards against K-State (most in the Coach Prime era) and have shown a real trust in the ground game. The Sun Devils have shown a weakness up front, allowing 134 rushing yards per game, 12 touchdowns and 4.2 yards per carry.
Last week, quarterback Isaac Wilson also had his first game without a turnover (8 in the previous three), because of the high rushing volume. Taking care of the football will be the top priority, but ASU will also be eager to take it away.
“We know, everybody we play is gonna try to force Isaac to make mistakes. We know that, and we got to run the ball,” Sanders said. “[ASU’s] a good football team, man.”
One of the players CU will look to shoulder the load is running back Richard Young. Coming off a career day against the Wildcats, he had 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns. If offensive coordinator Brennan Marion can commit to the ground game again, they'll have opportunities to find success.
Even with a tough path to their end-of-season hopes, the Buffs aren't giving up.
“We always stay together at the end of the day,” Young said. “We fight for each other in practice, game time, game situations and everything like that.”
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