Another ranked Pac-12 team plays this weekend when the 23rd-ranked UCLA Bruins host Deion Sanders’s Colorado Buffaloes in prime time (pun intended).
Colorado is 4-3 following a last-minute double-overtime stunning loss 46-43 to Stanford. The Buffs are off of a bye week and look to regroup to clinch a bowl berth for the first time since 2020.
UCLA is 5-2 and dismantled Stanford last week 42-7. While UCLA is likely out of the Pac-12 championship race, they can still contend for their first 10-win season since 2014.
What Channel Airs the Colorado-UCLA Game?
Colorado @ UCLA
- Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: ABC
- Odds: UCLA -16.5
- Over/Under Total: 61
It all starts with Shedeur Sanders for Colorado. Sanders is fifth nationally in passing yards and has done all the work for the Colorado offense all season. Colorado has not had a 100-yard rusher in any game this season, forcing Sanders to throw early and often to move the ball offensively.
Beyond Sanders, the dual threat of WR/CB Travis Hunter Jr. is significant for Colorado. He came back to play against Stanford and racked up 140 yards and two touchdowns on 13 catches offensively. Hunter’s health is key for Colorado for the rest of the season as the Buffs’ top playmaker.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
Receiver Xavier Weaver is fourth in the Pac-12 in receiving yards this season. The South Florida transfer has been a go-to target for Sanders and is a big play threat waiting to happen every time he gets the ball.
However, Colorado’s game plan plays right into UCLA’s hands. The Bruins have one of the best defensive turnarounds of the year, and they are devastating up front. UCLA boasts three of the top-four players in the Pac-12 in pressures and sacks with Laiatu Latu and the Murphy brothers in Gabriel and Grayson. The trio has combined for 15 sacks and a whopping 94 pressures on the season.
Sanders has been the second-most pressured QB in the country this season behind Hawaii’s Brayden Schager and has been under duress on almost 37% of his snaps. This trio is going to harass him often and could wreck Colorado’s game plan before it even gets off the ground.
UCLA is allowing the fewest passing yards per game in the Pac-12 and the second-lowest completion percentage in the conference. The Bruins can take advantage of errant passes as well, leading the Pac-12 in interceptions with nine.
The play of its defense is why UCLA is such a heavy favorite, but its offense will have to do its part to force a cover. The Bruins went back to Ethan Garbers at quarterback against Stanford after more struggles from freshman Dante Moore, and the offense piled up over 500 yards on Stanford.
Whether or not this is the best plan to get them to 10 wins can be debated, Colorado’s defense might not be the one to make them pay for it. Nobody allows more passing yards per game than Colorado, whose defense has allowed the most passing touchdowns in the country with 21.
UCLA’s passing offense hasn’t found a rhythm, but it has one of the best receivers in the country in J.Michael Sturdivant, who has been the Bruins’ best playmaker on offense this season. Sturdivant vs. Hunter might be one of the best individual matchups of the season and could be one that decides the whole game.
Colorado is marginally better against the run, but it’s hard to be worse. The Buffs allow the third-most rushing yards per game in the Pac-12 and are 100th nationally in yards per rush allowed.
UCLA’s ground game has gotten better over the last two weeks. Led by Ball State transfer Carson Steele, the Bruins have put up over 200 yards on the ground in back-to-back games and will look to make that three in a row against Colorado.
While UCLA is a heavy favorite thanks to its defense, Colorado still has talent and will likely want to wash out the bad taste of the Stanford game off a bye week against a ranked UCLA.
