Five storylines to follow ahead of Colorado’s Week 9 matchup at UCLA
Head coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes football team are fresh off their bye week and should be rested up and ready for the final stretch of the 2023 regular season.
Sitting at 4-3 overall and 1-3 in Pac-12 play, the Buffs still have work to do if they want to qualify for a bowl game. With just two more victories on the season, Coach Prime will accomplish what many didn’t think he could in his first season at Colorado.
The Buffs are traveling to Pasadena this weekend for a date with the Bruins of UCLA. Here are some of the top storylines to follow ahead of this Week 9 matchup:
The mindset of the Buffs after the bye
Colorado created so much early-season momentum that the Buffs became the talk of college football. After losing three of their last four, the mindset of the Buffs following the bye week will be something worth following. Will they come out with that same early confidence and swag?
The health of the Buffs
Travis Hunter returned to action against Stanford before the bye week, but the extra week off is certainly a plus for not only Hunter but the other banged-up Colorado players, including right tackle Savion Washington, who is dealing with an ankle injury.
Will the defense show improvement?
It has been a tough first season at Colorado for defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. Currently, the Buffs rank dead last in team defense at over 470 yards allowed per game. Steady and incremental steps in the right direction could be the difference between winning and losing for the Buffs. The Bruins won’t be an easy matchup for Colorado, either. UCLA ranks 17th in the country in total offense.
Slowing down UCLA's balanced offensive attack
Speaking of UCLA’s offense, it would be tough to find a team that has as much offensive balance as the Bruins, who have over 1,700 yards passing and over 1,500 yards rushing on the season. That is the type of balance that creates issues for opposing defenses. We’ll see what Kelly’s defense is made of right out of the gate.
Help for Shedeur
Despite the incredible numbers that Shedeur Sanders has put up this season, it is completely unfair to put the entire offense on his shoulder. We’ve talked all season long about the Buffs’ need to create some resemblance of a running game to take the load off Sanders. Talent is not absent in the backfield, but there needs to be a concentrated effort by offensive coordinator Sean Lewis to provide those guys with consistent touches.
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READ: Where UCLA ranks in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll
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