Colorado University Athletics
Fast Five Keys For Buffs At Arizona State
October 06, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
TEMPE, Ariz. — Colorado's Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders definitely wasn't shy earlier this week when asked about the Buffaloes' expectations for Saturday's game at Arizona State (4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
"The expectation that we have of ourselves is to go in and win this game," Sanders said. "You want to win every game but you really expect to win some games a lot more than others."
This is one of those games. The 3-2 Buffs are favored to get a road win against the 1-4 Sun Devils, and for good reason. While CU has dropped two in a row after a 3-0 start, both losses came to top 10 programs and the Buffs have played well in all but one of their games.
ASU, meanwhile, hasn't won since opening the season with a 24-21 victory over Southern Utah. The Sun Devils have used three different starting quarterbacks in five games, have forced just one turnover while losing 13 and have scored a grand total of 10 touchdowns in five games (their 17.6 points per game is 124th in the nation).
Simply put, the game is an opportunity for the Buffs to end their losing streak and build a little momentum as they hit the halfway point of the season.
Our weekly Fast Five keys for Colorado:
1. Start fast. We'll keep listing this as a critical key for the Buffs until they actually do it — which hasn't happened since the first game of the season.
After scoring 17 points in the first half of a 45-42 win over TCU, Colorado's offense has scored just four touchdowns and two field goals in the first half of the last four games, and the Buffs have been outscored 104-58 in the first half this season. The slow starts very nearly cost them the game against CSU, buried them early against Oregon and put them in a hole from which they couldn't quite extricate themselves in last week's loss to USC.
It's a trend Colorado needs to halt in a hurry. The Buffs need to put a couple of scores on the board early and not give the Sun Devils any unnecessary hope.
2. Continue their turnover dominance. CU's defense has been very good this year at creating turnovers while the offense has been stellar at taking care of the ball.
Colorado has 12 takeaways this year, including the only interceptions thrown this season by USC's Caleb Williams and Oregon's Bo Nix. Meanwhile, the Buffs have lost just two interceptions and three fumbles, which is why they are tied for seventh in the nation in turnover margin.
The takeaways have been critical for CU's defense (Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig has three interceptions and all have come at crucial moments). The Buffs are giving up more than 480 yards and 36 points per game but those defensive takeaways have bailed them out of some difficult moments while also setting the stage for some big offensive moments.
Those are exactly the kind of momentum-producing instances the Buffs need to produce Saturday and take the Sun Devils out of the game early.
3. Don't give up anything cheap. While there are plenty of reasons for optimism at ASU, the general consensus is that Kenny Dillingham's program is at least a year away from being competitive in the Pac-12.
But that doesn't mean the Sun Devils can't make life miserable for Colorado if the Buffs give them the opportunity. ASU has talent on both sides of the ball and with a little momentum and confidence, could make this a tight ballgame.
The Buffs can't give them that chance. That means no turnovers, no cheap penalties and no third-down gifts.
The Sun Devils are anxious for a feel-good moment. Colorado needs to make sure ASU has to wait at least another week for that to occur.
4. Continue to improve the run game. The Buffs ran for 193 yards against USC, nearly four times their season average.
But perhaps most importantly, the run game was a critical part of CU's second-half comeback. The Buffs were just successful enough on the ground to keep USC's defense honest — which gave Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders just enough time to operate.
It will be interesting to see if Colorado develops a "go-to" back over the last half of the season. Dylan Edwards is a home run threat every time he touches the ball — but Anthony Hankerson is better in pass protection and a little more productive between the tackles. Meanwhile, Alton McCaskill continues to come back from injury and Sy'veon Wilkerson still offers a big back punch on occasion.
The answer for CU might be a continued committee approach. Or, this could be the game one of the bunch starts to separate himself from the pack.
5. Be prepared for ASU's best shot. Here's the thing about being the most-watched team in the nation: everybody wants their chance.
The Buffs found that out against Colorado State, when the Rams took CU down to the wire. The Buffs received a big reminder a week later when Oregon — evidently miffed at the national attention directed CU's way — did everything it could to beat the Buffs soundly.
Now, it's the Sun Devils who know that there's no faster way to a little national recognition than by beating Coach Prime and the Buffs.
That means the Buffs have to be ready for anything and everything — from fake punts to trick plays to the occasional after-the-whistle extracurricular activity.
If Colorado takes care of business Saturday, the Buffs will return to Boulder with a 4-2 record and an excellent chance to improve to 5-2 a week later.
That's an opportunity CU needs to seize.
