Colorado Football: Buffs aim to stay perfect with win over Arizona State

Colorado football hosts Arizona State in a Pac-12 showdown. Will the Buffaloes remain among the 14 undefeated teams left in the FBS?

Now that the first month of season is over, the only unbeaten team left in the Pac-12 is not a preseason favorite like Washington, Stanford, or USC but rather the Colorado Buffaloes. Mike MacIntyre’s team has been outscoring opponents by an average of 22.5 points per game on the way to a 4-0 start.

Steven Montez has been the catalyst for Colorado’s emergence as a Pac-12 contender. The junior from El Paso is completing more than three-quarters of his passing attempts and accounted for a dozen total touchdowns in September. Montez also rates among the dozen most efficient passers in the FBS at this point of the season.

Arizona State, likewise, has been a pleasant surprise for Sun Devils fans in the first year of the Herm Edwards regime in Tempe. The Sun Devils have been a mixed bag so far this season. Though they toppled a ranked Michigan State team in a big Week 2 showdown out of conference, Arizona State also fell to San Diego State and Washington in back-to-back weeks and currently sits at 3-2.

Eno Benjamin has helped balance out the rushing attack now that Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard are gone. But his rushing totals can be somewhat misleading, as Benjamin racked up more than half of his current yardage and scoring totals in one game at the end of September. Against Oregon State, Benjamin toted the rock 30 times for 312 yards and three touchdowns; he currently has 595 total rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the season.

Which offense will come out more fired up on Saturday afternoon in the shadow of the Flatirons? Here’s how you can watch the Saturday afternoon game between Arizona State and No. 21 Colorado:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Boulder, Colo.
Venue: Folsom Field
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Live | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

To remain undefeated, the Colorado offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting Steven Montez and their running backs. The Buffaloes currently give up an average of 2.75 sacks and eight tackles for loss each game, putting them in the bottom quartile of the FBS in both categories.

Arizona State needs to clamp down in the red zone in a way that they haven’t quite managed yet this year. The Sun Devils give up points on eight of every nine trips opponents make inside the 20, and that will have to cut down significantly on the road against the Buffaloes. Herm Edwards’ team also needs to do a better job of sustaining drives and remaining on schedule to keep the chains moving.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Colorado -2.5
Over/Under: 64

Prediction

This is going to be a close contest, with both sides making life difficult for their opponent’s offense. Look for this one to finish well under the total points line, and whichever team wins will prevail by a field goal at best. That should allow Colorado to cover the spread, with James Stefanou earning his hero moment in front of their home fans.

Final Score: Colorado 23, Arizona State 20