Football: CU Buffs vs. Baylor scouting report

A scouting report of the Colorado Buffaloes and Baylor Bears ahead of Saturday's game in Boulder.

Colorado Buffaloes

Head coach: Deion Sanders, 2nd season (6-9, 33-15 career)

Last week: Beat Colorado State, 28-9, on the road

Rankings: N/R

DE Dayon Hayes: Posted his first two sacks of the season last week at Colorado State. He also has 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. He has 14 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in his career.

LB Nikhai Hill-Green: He's been highly productive in his two starts and is now tied for third on the team with 15 tackles. He also has two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

WR Jimmy Horn Jr.: After a monster game in the season opener (seven catches, 198 yards, one TD), he's been quiet the past two weeks with a total of seven catches for 48 yards. He's due for another big game.

LT Jordan Seaton: True freshman continues to settle in to his spot. He's played every snap on offense this season and has done well in protecting the quarterback.

RB Micah Welch: True freshman had a breakout game last week, leading the Buffs with 65 rushing yards on nine carries. Those were the first carries of his collegiate career and he figures to play a prominent role this week.

Baylor Bears

Head coach: Dave Aranda, 5th season (25-26)

Last week: Beat Air Force, 31-3, at home

Rankings: N/R

QB Dequan Finn: Transfer from Toledo, where he played for five years. During his three seasons as a starter, he threw for 6,988 yards, 63 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He also ran for 1,699 yards and 25 touchdowns.

CB Caden Jenkins: One of the top freshmen in the country last year, he had 37 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries – one of which he returned for a touchdown. He has five tackles this season.

LB Matt Jones: Led Baylor with 82 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss last year, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention; also had 3 sacks and 5 pass breakups. He's started all 27 games the past 3 seasons and has 36 starts in the last four years, racking up 226 tackles, 25 TFLs and 7.5 sacks. This year: 28 tackles, 2 TFLs.

RB Dawson Pendergrass: Baylor's leading rusher this year with 144 yards on 30 carries and one TD. As a true freshman last year, he had 338 yards on 79 carries (4.3 yards per carry) and a team-high five touchdowns.

TE Michael Trigg: Ole Miss (and USC) transfer leads the Bears with 10 catches for 109 yards and a TD – off to his best start. In his collegiate career, he has caught 38 passes for 439 yards and six TDs.

When Colorado has the ball ...

Did the Buffs find a new dimension to their offense last week, or simply exploit a hole in the Colorado State defense? After having virtually no running game in the first two weeks, the Buffs posted 109 yards on the ground last week. "It was a great boost," said freshman Micah Welch, who had 65 of those yards. "I knew it was going to happen. I had seen how the defense was lined up, and I just took advantage of it." If the Buffs have a run game to go with Shedeur Sanders' arm, look out. Sanders is one of the best passers in the country and is sharp when he has time to operate. "Whenever we give him time, we understand the results," head coach Deion Sanders said. The Buffs face a tough test this week, though. Baylor hasn't played against top competition every week, but the Bears have held opponents to 29 points (9.7 per game) and 227 passing yards (75.7 per game). Baylor hasn't seen a passing attack like CU's yet, but the Bears have generated four sacks in limited opportunities and they're holding the opposition to only 3.5 yards per rushing attempt.

When Baylor has the ball ...

It's unclear which quarterback will play for Baylor this week. Dequan Finn, who started the first two games, missed last week with an injury. Sawyer Robertson filled in admirably, leading the Bears to a 31-3 win against Air Force. Finn brings a running threat that Robertson doesn't have, but both are solid passers. The Bears are mainly led by their run game, though, as 62.4% of their plays have been on the ground. Dawson Pendergrass and Richard Reese lead the ground game. "They try to run the ball," CU linebacker LaVonta Bentley said. "They've got (two good QBs), but at the end of the day, it's the same stuff: zone, cut, insert and all that. So like I said, we've got to play downhill and on their side of the line of scrimmage." CU has been solid on defense this season and particularly in the last six quarters, giving up just nine points. The defense has allowed just four touchdowns in the last two games combined. "A lot of speed," CU safety Carter Stoutmire said of the Bears. "And it's cool, I played against some of those dudes, seven on seven, being from Texas; we're all from Texas. ... They're a really talented team. They got good speed. I think it'll be a good game."

Special teams

It's been a tough start for the Buffs in the kicking game, as they are just 2-for-5 on field goals. Alejandro Mata is just 2-for-4, including a 44-yard miss last week. Punter Mark Vassett has overcome a couple of shanked punts in the last two weeks to put together a strong campaign to this point. He's averaging 41.7 yards per punt with six of his 11 kicks landing inside the 20-yard line. Jimmy Horn Jr. (kickoff return) and LaJohntay Wester (punt return) have explosive ability. Baylor may have the kicking game edge in this one. Isaiah Hankins is 6-for-8 on field goals this season and he's 38-of-54 in his career, with a long of 54. Punter Palmer Williams has been sensational this year, averaging 57.9 yards per punt with three of his eight punts landing inside the 20. Most of his work was done at Utah, where he punted six times, with all six going beyond 50 yards, including career bests of 79, 76 and 60 yards. Josh Cameron has averaged 12.6 yards on five punt returns.

• In its return season in the Big 12, CU will play its first conference game this week. The Buffs are 83-45-2 all-time in conference openers, including 7-8 during the Big 12 era (1996-2010). CU has lost consecutive conference openers.

• CU and Baylor have played 16 times, but only seven of those games were played as Big 12 Conference rivals. The Buffs and Bears played nine times before the Big Eight expanded to the Big 12 in 1996, adding Baylor and others. CU was 4-3 against the Bears during the previous Big 12 era (1996-2010).

• In addition to being the conference opener, Saturday will be CU's homecoming game. The Buffs are 65-37-5 all-time on homecoming, but have lost two in a row.

• CU's Shedeur Sanders is the only quarterback in the country with at least 100 career touchdown passes and less than 20 interceptions. He has 106 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions in his collegiate career, including 36 touchdowns and five interceptions at CU.

• Saturday's game is sold out. It marks the seventh sellout in eight home games since head coach Deion Sanders was hired.

• Coming into the season, CU was ranked 11th in the Big 12 media poll, with 400 points, while Baylor was 12th, with 268 points.

• Colorado receiver LaJohntay Wester is closing in on 3,000 receiving yards for his collegiate career. A transfer from Florida Atlantic, Wester has caught 266 passes for 2,861 yards in his career. He has 14 catches for 158 yards this season.

• Baylor will bring a two-game Folsom Field winning streak into this year's game, beating the Buffs in 2006 and 2010 in Boulder.

• Since 2010, Baylor has been to 11 bowl games in 14 seasons. The Bears finished ranked among the top 15 in the Associated Press poll in six of those seasons.

• Since a three-game winning streak in the middle of the 2022 season, Baylor is 2-10 in its last 12 conference games, with both wins coming on the road (UCF, Cincinnati) in 2023. CU, meanwhile, is 1-14 in its last 15 conference games.