Colorado Looks to Bounce Back on the Road at Colorado State

© Dylan Widger - Imagn Images

The Colorado Buffaloes (1-1) travel to face the Colorado State Rams (1-1) at 7:30 p.m. EST on Sept 14 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. The Buffaloes won the matchup in 2023 with a lot of hatred from both sides with several fights and a hit on wide receiver Travis Hunter that kept him from playing for weeks afterward. Colorado State is coming off a 38-17 win over Northern Colorado (0-2). Colorado had a rough game in Lincoln, Neb., losing to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0) 28-10.

What's at Stake?

Colorado State will attempt to beat their in-state rival for the first time since 2014. The Rams were picked to finish in the top 5 in the Mountain West Conference this season by publications like Athlon Sports, but it's been a rough start for the Rams after getting blown out by the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (2-0) 52-0 last week. They will be looking for a Power Four conference win against Colorado. The Buffaloes started the season with a hard-fought victory over North Dakota State (1-1) and then lost to Nebraska. Colorado is looking for another win before starting their Big 12 Conference schedule. A loss to Colorado State will make improving on last season's 4-wins a tough task for head coach Deion Sanders and his team.

© Logan Newell / The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK

Key Players: Colorado State

Tory Horton, Wide Receiver

Horton has 8 catches and 96 yards on the season. Against Northern Colorado, he also added on a 75-yard punt return touchdown to kick off the scoring for the Rams agains the Bears. Colorado State has to find their most dynamic playmaker ways to touch the ball in this game against a Colorado secondary with starters out with injuries.

Chase Wilson, Linebacker

He is currently second on the team in tackles with 15 and has the defense's only interception this season. The senior linebacker had 3.5 sacks last season which makes him a threat to pressure Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes' offensive line has struggled this year at protecting Sanders and the Rams will need to put pressure on them to slow down a potentially lethal Colorado offense.

Key Players: Colorado

Dallan Hayden, Running Back

The Colorado running game has been non-existent this year with Hayden being the leading rusher with 52 yards on 14 carries. Colorado has had zero rushing touchdowns on the season to this point. While the Buffaloes could still win this game without a rushing attack, the ground game needs to get going with Big 12 play coming up.

DJ McKinney, Cornerback

McKinney leads the defense with 14 tackles on the season with 1 pass breakup. With safety Shilo Sanders out for at least a few weeks with a broken arm McKinney will need to be the leader in the secondary. He will be tasked to slow down Horton in this game, taking away the Rams premier passing threat and still looked upon to help in the outside run game.

Trends to Watch

Colorado needs to work on some things that have plagued them in the Sanders era. They need to run the ball more effectively and the offensive line to have better protection for the quarterback. If Colorado loses this game they will need five wins in conference play to make a bowl for the first time since 2020. Colorado State is looking to end its losing streak to Colorado on top of getting a win over a Big 12 team. The Rams need a boost heading into Mountain West games after their other big matchup (against Texas) of the season ended badly.

Broadcast Information

Date: Sept. 14

Time: 7:30 p.m. EST

Where: Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins, Colo.

TV: CBS