Colorado faces a tall task tomorrow in No. 5 Texas A&M, arguably the most daunting opponent on the team's 2021 schedule.

Both the Buffs and Aggies come off of imperfect week one victories: Texas A&M having defeated Kent State, 41-10, in a game that saw the Aggies led by just seven at halftime, while CU dispatched Northern Colorado, 35-7, despite a borderline nonexistent passing game.

Heading into Saturday afternoon's game, to be played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, the Aggies are a 17-point favorite, according to Vegas Insider.

It will be the second of three marquee matchups for the Pac-12 Conference on the day, as No. 3 Ohio State hosts Oregon at 10 a.m. while Washington heads to Ann Arbor for a 6 p.m. showdown with Michigan.

For the Buffaloes themselves and the Pac-12 in general, there's no denying that Saturday contains some high stakes.

"It's definitely a big day for the conference, but all we can do is focus on our game. We've got Texas A&M in front of us and we've got to focus on playing them one play at a time," junior outside linebacker Carson Wells said.

A their own coin toss and kickoff approaches, None of Colorado's players will be hyper focused on paying attention to what Oregon is doing during Saturday's pregame warmups in Denver.

That said, while simultaneously wanting to look at the Aggies as simply the next opponent on the schedule, the opportunity to deal a loss to one of the nation's top programs is hard not to notice.

“You do want to go in the game and treat it just like week two, coming off a good win last week and treating this like just another game," senior linebacker Nate Landman said.

"There’s that added big-game feeling playing in the Broncos stadium and bringing a top 10 team in. But I think the biggest thing for us is to treat it like a game that’ll put us on the map and this program where it used to be.”

Against Kent State, Texas A&M put up 595 yards of total offense, scoring 31 of its 41 points in the second half.

The Aggies had two 100-yard rushers in junior tailback Isaiah Spiller (113 yards) and Devin Achane (127 yards, two touchdowns), gouging the Golden Flashes for 7.2 yards per carry on average.

While the Buffaloes also had more than one impressive performance by a tailback in their season-opener (Jarek Broussard, Alex Fontenot, Ashaad Clayton and Deion Smith combined to average 6.5 yards per carry, scoring a touchdown apiece vs. UNC), the Aggies were far more effective through the air, statistically speaking.

Freshman quarterback Haynes King put up meatier numbers, throwing for 292 yards and a pair of score on 21-of-33 attempts, but he also was intercepted three times.

Additionally, Texas A&M also boasted junior wide receiver Ainias Smith, who caught eight passes for 100 yards, scoring two touchdowns, as well.

“They’re a super explosive offense with a big o-line, they’ve got great running backs, a new quarterback that comes in and does a great job and then their tight end, too," Landman said.

"(We’re) focusing on our keys and playing the best matchups that we can get watching film and allowing us to put our players in the best positions to make plays that come to us — not trying to do too much, just trying to play Colorado football. They are a great offense but we’re a great defense, so I’m excited for that matchup come Saturday.”

Also not lost on Colorado is junior tight end Jalen Wydermyer, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound player who had 46 catches for 506 yards and six touchdowns last year.

All in all, the Buffs know they're going to have their hands full with a plethora of dangerous skill players lining up against them.

“They got some good athletes — especially 0 (Smith) and 28 (Spiller)," junior outside linebacker Wells said. "85 (Wydermyer) is a good athlete, a big guy and (Texas A&M) likes to utilize him in space."

"(They have) a young quarterback but he can move. There was one play last week, he rolled all the way to the right and then reversed field and came all the way back to the left. It was like 3rd and 11 and he got 12 yards for a first down — mobile guy.”

"They're a talented team, just like what we saw with Texas in the Alamo Bowl, Karl Dorrell said. "They’ve got really good skill (players), they’ve got good offensive and defensive linemen, good team speed — all those things you would expect a program like this to be."

"We have a really good opportunity in front of us...this is really a great opportunity for us to get out there, compete and go for a victory.”