The Colorado Buffaloes and UCLA Bruins are by no means ships passing in the night. The Buffs may be on the upswing and the Bruins are battling through an unexpected down season, but as these two programs meet on Thursday night headed in different directions they’ll add to what’s quietly becoming a solid Pac-12 rivalry.
Although Colorado has yet to defeat UCLA since joining the conference, just seven points separate the two teams over their last two meetings, including an overtime thriller in Boulder two years ago and a game at the Rose Bowl that saw tempers flare.
“Who can forget?” Pac-12 Network analyst Yogi Roth asks in his preview of this nationally televised game. “Sefo Liufau and Anthony Barr getting after it …. What’s going to happen again? But this time in Boulder?”
The Buffs are coming off a bye week and a win at Stanford that made them bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007. The Bruins also had a week off to heal their wounds inflicted in a three-game losing streak. UCLA, however, is coming around to a new quarterback making just his third start.
“I love this matchup. And what I love about it is Colorado’s defense,” Roth continued. “They’re so impressive. They’re going up against Mike Fafaul at quarterback, making his third start. [He’s] a very young quarterback, even though he’s a fifth-year senior. [The Buffs] are going to change looks up, play man coverage. They’re going to be aggressive and bring pressure.
“[Fafaul’s] going to have to recognize what the defense is doing early and often. And then, oh by the way, his receivers are going to have to win. Because I think Colorado’s secondary is the best in the Pac-12 South … He’s going to have to throw some wide receivers open and deal with a front four that is relentless.”
Colorado’s defense is the best in the Pac-12, allowing 308 yards per game and their 11 interceptions are second only to Utah with 15. On offense, Colorado’s 496 yards per game are third-best in the conference and they’re averaging a full touchdown more per game than UCLA.
“How do [the Bruins] defend the run-pass option?” Roth asks. “They usually have a four-man front, meaning that everyone’s responsible for a gap, and a lot of time in their defense when they do play some sort of man-to-man, it’s 10 on 11 because you’re not thinking that the quarterback’s going to run. Well, in this game Sefo Liufau will run, so it’s sort of 11 on 11. No one can miss.”
Given the recent history of this game – decided by four points last year and three points the year before – this should be a game no CU fan, or Pac-12 fan for that matter, should miss.
“Big picture, watch this game between the hashes. It’s going to be an absolute blast,” Roth says.