Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team switched up their preparation this week.
Something had to change after the Buffs’ 41-7 loss to Northwestern and it couldn’t just be the absence of players Coach Prime dismissed from the team this week.
“We’re preparing with a little change,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “I felt the preparation was excellent last week when we went there (Northwestern) and got our butts kicked so we changed a few things.
“Nothing alarming but we’re just asking more of the kids as well as the coaches.”
We’ll see just how different the Colorado football team (2-1) is this weekend for its Big 12 opener at Baylor (2-1). The Buffs are 9.5-point underdogs (as of Thursday night), the largest they’ve been all season.
Here are three keys and a prediction for the Colorado football team’s Big 12 opener vs. Baylor.
Slow down DJ Lagway, Baylor’s passing attack
Baylor leads the Big 12 in pass attempts and passing yards entering Week 4.
This will be the toughest test the Colorado football secondary has faced up to this point, especially with DJ Lagway back in the lineup. The Baylor QB missed the last two games with an ankle injury after throwing for 333 yards and two TDs on 54 pass attempts in a season-opening loss to Auburn.
Lagway is an uber-talented player with a skillset similar to Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles, who Deion Sanders said had the best game of his career against the Buffs last week. Coach Prime and defensive coordinator Chris Marve will have to make DJ Lagway uncomfortable.
“We have to take some things away and keep applying pressure,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “You can’t sit back and wait for them to make mistakes because they’re not.
“We have to apply pressure and force them into making mistakes.”
Baylor also leads the Big 12 in passing plays of 10-plus yards and passing plays of 20-plus yards. That has a lot to do with WR Gavin Freeman, who already has 29 catches (leads FBS) and 305 yards on 40 targets in just three games. Freeman lines up in the slot on 97% of his snaps which means Colorado football cornerback Boo Carter should see plenty of action against Baylor’s top receiving threat.
Whoever wins that matchup could tilt this game in favor of their team.
Be efficient in the red zone
Through three games, the Colorado football team has the worst red-zone offense in the Big 12.
Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s unit has the fewest red-zone trips (8) in the conference this season and only five of those have resulted in TDs. The red-zone execution didn’t cost them vs. Weber State thanks to long TDs but it nearly did vs. Georgia Tech and it certainly did vs. Northwestern.
Colorado has mostly been able to move the football (averaging 5.2 YPC as a team) but finishing drives with TDs — not field goals or turnovers — will be a major key.
The same can be said for Baylor, who hasn’t fared much better in scoring range. The Bears have the third-worst red-zone TD rate (83%) in the Big 12 through three weeks and it’s largely due to their inability to run the football.
Baylor’s 3.7 YPC ranks dead last in the Big 12 (112th nationally) and it could make them a predictable, one-dimensional offense on Saturday.
Play a clean game
This is easier said than done, but it’s undoubtedly something these head coaches have preached to their teams this week.
The Colorado football team has been called for the most penalties in the Big 12 entering Week 4 and right behind them is, you guessed it, Baylor. Colorado averages 82 penalty yards per game while the Bears average 71.
It’s something that Coach Prime can’t wrap his mind around.
“Penalties are tough on me because everything we do, and these guys will tell you, is about discipline,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “Everything they do is discipline, discipline, discipline. Then when you get out there on the field, you’re undisciplined. I don’t understand. It’s hard to fathom.
“That means pressure is bringing out certain things that shouldn’t be in you, but it’s coming out. And it shouldn’t, because we are disciplined in every other area.”
The more disciplined team that can avoid a mental error in a big moment will likely start Big 12 play 1-0.
Colorado football vs Baylor prediction
Baylor is getting reinforcements back in the form of DJ Lagway, WR Jadon Porter, DB Devin Turner and others.
Meanwhile, the Colorado football team is a bit banged up. WR Danny Scudero is still sidelined, starting TE Charlie Williams (sixth-most offensive snaps played) has already been ruled out and RB Damian Henderson II (third-leading rusher) is doubtful.
The Buffs’ secondary has looked questionable as of late and that’s exactly what Baylor’s pass-heavy offense is built to exploit, especially after watching what Northwestern did last week. Colorado is back in prove-it mode which is why the Bears — even with all of their flaws — are a heavy, home favorite.
Baylor wins 31-27.
Follow Colorado Buffaloes beat reporter Scott Procter on X.
