Colorado continues its rampage toward the Big 12 title game this weekend against Utah, and the Buffs are just three wins away from a trip to Arlington to fight for the conference crown and a trip to the College Football Playoff.

This CU team has continued to get better week after week, and as a result is playing some of the best football in the country. The win over Texas Tech on Saturday was no different, as the Buffs started slowly and gradually improved to run away with a two-score victory at the end of the day.

The Buffs had plenty of things to turn around early in the game, and they did just that. Before they turn the page to Utah, let’s look at a few big takeaways after watching the win in Lubbock for a second time.

Just like everybody predicted, the talk of the team after Saturday’s win is … Cash Cleveland? The freshman walk-on entered the game following Colorado’s first series and played some very good football throughout the day. He didn’t allow a single pressure all afternoon and finished as the Buffs’ third highest-graded lineman on the day.

Cleveland showed a calm and a poise that is very rare for someone in his situation. He’s not the biggest or the strongest guy, so he isn’t out there overpowering defensive tackles, but he blocked effectively out in space and climbed to the second level well in the run game. In pass protection, he was very sound, always in the right spot and scanning the whole field well. The IMG Academy product also plays with a high motor, playing through the whistle and finishing blocks through the ground.

All signs point to Cleveland getting his first career start on Saturday against Utah as Hank Zilinskas continues to struggle. If that is the case, the early signs were very positive.