Buffs Ready For No. 9 Stanford

BOULDER — When it comes to college football, it's often said, "The games they remember are played in November."

The 4-5 Colorado Buffaloes have four opportunities to put forth a memorable performance, beginning with Saturday's home date with the 7-1 Stanford Cardinal (11 a.m., Pac-12 Networks).

But Saturday, nobody on the CU sidelines will be counting past one — as in what it will take to add one more win to CU's total.

A victory over the No. 9 Cardinal would obviously be a feather in the CU's cap. The Buffs, 1-4 in Pac-12 play, have lost 20 straight games against ranked teams, with the last win coming in 2009 when they knocked off No. 17 Kansas, 34-30, at Folsom Field.

Since then, they've come close, including last weekend's 35-31 defeat at then-No. 24 UCLA. The Buffs had a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get to the end zone one more time after UCLA regained the lead.

Saturday, the Buffs will have their hands full with a team that boasts a well-balanced offense that includes a Heisman Trophy-candidate running back and a defense that is stout in virtually all areas.

"Stanford is an excellent, excellent football team," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "They are a powerful football team. Coach (David) Shaw has done a great job there."

CU coaches have said all week the Cardinal might be the most well-rounded team they've seen this season. Running back Christian McCaffrey — the Cardinal's leading rusher and receiver — plays behind a mammoth offensive line, one that averages well over 300 pounds per player. Quarterback Kevin Hogan is an experienced leader whose dual-threat abilities give Stanford plenty of options when it comes to moving the ball downfield.

It is McCaffrey who makes the Cardinal offense go. The nation's leader in all-purpose yardage (244 yards per game) has surpassed 100 yards in offense in seven games this year — and the Cardinal have won all seven.

Asked about McCaffrey, CU head coach Mike MacIntyre ticked off the attributes: "He has excellent vision .. he's powerful … he's extremely fast … and then he's a tough runner."

The Buffs are looking forward to the challenge — and they know that stopping the run will be a big key to their success.

"It's always a fun game when you get to hit the linemen all of the time," linebacker Kenneth Olugbode said. "We have to be able to stop the run game, first of all, because everything is set up off of the run game. We have to stop the run, and that helps eliminate the play action. It (allows) our safeties to play high and make plays."

The Cardinal are not invincible. They were held to just two field goals in a 16-6 season-opening loss to Northwestern, and just last week, had to rally late for a 30-28 win over Washington State — a game that wasn't decided until the Cougars missed a field goal as time ran out.

Defensively, the Cardinal are led by 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker Blake Martinez, a Butkus Award semifinalist who has been in on 91 tackles for Stanford this year — more than twice as many as any other player on the team. Fellow linebacker Peter Kalambayi, another 240-pounder, leads the Cardinal in sacks, while backup nickelback/safety Quenton Meeks leads Stanford in interceptions with two.

"They're strong and powerful up front," MacIntyre said. "They do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and harassing the quarterback usually with just four rushers, and their secondary does a good job of coverage. We are definitely going to have to move the ball and score points in order to have an opportunity to win."

Offensively, the Buffs are simply hoping to correct a few of the mistakes that led to last week's perplexing performance, when they had the ball for more than 41 minutes and totaled 554 yards offense — and still scored just 24 offensive points.

"It was just one of those game we have to be able to finish," quarterback Sefo Liufau said. "There were a lot of good things that we did, and then we weren't able to finish, which is attributed to a couple of mistakes in every facet of the game. We just have to go. We already looked at the film, fixed it, and now we need to make sure we don't do it again this week."

Liufau should have a healthy Shay Fields back again this week. The sophomore receiver played against UCLA after missing a game with a sprained ankle, but was not as effective as usual. CU is also aiming for another solid performance from freshman running back Patrick Carr, who recorded his first 100-yard game last week; and the Buffs will also likely be leaning on all-purpose back Donovan Lee, who has 247 yards rushing and has also caught 17 passes this season.

But as for looking at the big picture — the last four games — Liufau said they're focused only on this one.

"You just take the next game that is up, and you just go out there and win it or do your best to win the game," Liufau said.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu