BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes (3-0) will hit the road to take on the Arizona Wildcats (0-3) on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on FS1.
Saturday will mark CU’s return to Pac-12 play following a two-week break from conference action. Back-to-back opponents have canceled on the Buffs due to Covid-19 breakouts, and CU filled one of the open weekends with a non-conference game against San Diego State.
But now that the Buffs are back playing within the conference, the stakes are higher; CU and USC are the only undefeated teams in the Pac-12 South with two weeks left, and whoever finishes in the top spot will book a trip to the conference championship.
CU is the more talented squad this weekend and Vegas has the Buffs winning by a touchdown. Here’s what we’re wondering heading into the game:
Will Grant Gunnell be on the field?
Sophomore quarterback Grant Gunnell was sidelined early in last Saturday’s game, leaving the Wildcats with a disappointing performance from his backup.
Gunnell’s status for this Saturday is up in the air, and whether he plays will be huge for Arizona’s chance of pulling off the upset.
Gunnell has thrown six touchdowns and just one interception this season and he’s been efficient overall. The gunslinger was part of a great freshman class of Pac-12 quarterbacks last season, so his production so far in 2020 hasn’t been a surprise.
If Gunnell can’t go on Saturday, the Wildcats will have to rely even more on the running game. Senior Gary Brightwell has flashed his big-play ability but his production dropped off after he opened the season with a 100-yard performance against USC.
Losing Gunnell would make Arizona incredibly one-dimensional and the Buffs defensive front shouldn’t have trouble bottling up the run game either way.
Will Carson Wells pass the heat check?
Nate Landman is one of the best linebackers in the country. At this point, that statement is almost indisputable. In the past week, he’s racked up more awards than most linebackers do in their entire career.
But he’s not the only dominating presence in Colorado’s defensive box.
Brian Cabral, the Buffs’ linebackers coach from 1990-2012 and current character coach, has nicknamed Landman and fellow linebacker Carson Wells the “Dynamic Duo.”
Wells deserves his fair share of the credit for how well the Colorado defense has played. As an outside linebacker in the Buffs’ 3-4 defense, Wells has made 15 tackles through three games, including 13 that were solo stops. He leads the team with seven tackles for loss. He’s broken up four passes, made stops on two third downs and he has three quarterback pressures to go with two sacks.
Plus, his Week 1 interception set up a touchdown drive that gave Colorado a two-score lead over UCLA in the game’s opening minutes.
Wells has proven himself at the Power 5 level. Now he just needs to keep doing it.
What does the running back rotation look like?
Jarek Broussard will be the No. 1 back for Colorado on Saturday. Beyond that, it’s tough to know what to expect.
Broussard is typically touching the ball about 30 times per game. That number could hold steady against Arizona, but this could also be an opportunity for the coaches to let Broussard rest up, or at least not take so much of a beating. Don’t be surprised if the carries dip from 30 to 25.
Whether Broussard’s workload remains the same or not, at least one other back will be in the mix. Jaren Mangham has been effective around the goalline, though he left plenty to be desired between the 20s during his two-week stint as the No. 2 back to open the season.
Joe Davis took over the second spot last week, to mild results.
Does that mean its finally time to unleash highly-touted true freshman Ashaad Clayton?
It seems like it to me, but the coaches are the ones who’ve seen what he can do in practice.
The receiver rotation will be interesting too, as Karl Dorrell ahs told reporters that he thinks the group is eight deep now that K.D. Nixon has returned from injury.
