Coming off its long-awaited first win of the 2022 season, Colorado will look to repeat the feat Saturday with a road matchup against Oregon State.
Whether the Buffs can notch back-to-back victories remains to be seen, but in the lead-up to the game, there are any number of angles and storylines to examine.
To get you ready in the hours leading up to kickoff, CU Sports Report staff writers Nicolette Edwards and Craig Meyer take a look at what from last week’s breakthrough might be sustainable, interim head coach Mike Sanford’s influence, the team’s quarterback situation and, as always, offer a prediction.
Certainly, the breakthrough win last week brought a lot of relief and needed excitement to the program. What is your confidence the Buffs will win another game this season?
Nicolette: As I said in a recent article on interim head coach Mike Sanford, “with these interim coaches and this newly invigorated team, I can now say, confidently, that they at least have a chance.”
Colorado’s defense didn’t give Jack Plummer and Cal’s offense many breaks last Saturday. I was genuinely shocked at how well the defense came out. Interim defensive coordinator Gerald Chatman’s new schemes fixed a lot of their problems, specifically stopping the run limiting Jaydn Ott – the third best running back in the Pac-12 in total yards – to just 47 yards. The Buffs tackled better, and overall from the line to the secondary, almost everyone had a big play.
The Buffs’ defense needed to play better in order for me to dish out a confident Colorado win, and against Cal, they did exactly that.
Against Arizona, CU’s running backs showed their effectiveness against Arizona, and Montana Lemonious-Craig had 119 yards and one touchdown last Saturday. The offense showed their strides in recent weeks and come Saturday, the Buffs’ can continue executing complimentary football.
Their next best chance at a win won’t be this weekend, but the most likely the following weekend against Arizona State at home on Oct. 29. The Sun Devils are currently 2-4 overall and play two consecutive road games starting at Stanford this weekend and then at Boulder.
I’m putting a “maybe” stamp on the Buffs beating Washington just because of their loss to Arizona State, but beating Oregon, USC and Utah, no way.
Craig: I’m probably more confident now than I was at this time last week. The win against Cal showed that there is something different about this Colorado team beyond the rejuvenation of a mid-season coaching change.
There’s a part of me that thinks that if what we saw from the Buffs last Saturday can continue over the final six games that, yes, they will win one of those contests. The problem is their schedule. Mind you, no part of their slate has been easy. Two of their non-conference games came against teams currently ranked in the top 15 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings and the third non-Pac-12 opponent (Air Force) was a squad that returned most of their biggest contributors from a 10-win team. Look at the final month – Oregon (ninth in SP+), at USC (22nd), at Washington (32nd) and Utah (11th). Tomorrow’s game at Oregon State will be an only slightly easier challenge, with the Buffs a 23.5-point underdog. That leaves a home matchup with Arizona State, a team that also made a mid-season coaching change. If Colorado is to win a second game this season, that’s the one.
I’ll need to see how the Buffs perform on Saturday in their second game under interim head coach Mike Sanford to get a clearer idea of what the rest of the season might have in store, but for now, I’ll say they finish 1-11.
