UCLA Football: Deion Sanders, Colorado Playing Desperate For Win Against Bruins As Path To Bowl Game Narrows
When the Colorado Buffaloes jumped out to a 3-0 start and a No. 18 ranking this season, bowl eligibility seemed inevitable.
Deion Sanders and company were on every other ESPN Instagram post and they were undoubtedly the most popular story in college football.
Then the Oregon game happened.
Sanders and his high-flying offense got smacked 42-6 by the Ducks and dropped a close game to USC the following week.
It was their loss to Stanford that seemed to really slow the Buffaloes roll.
Colorado entered as a 13.5-point favorite and had a 29-point lead at halftime. What followed was one of the largest second-half comebacks in NCAA history as Stanford clawed their way back to earn a 46-43 victory in double overtime.
The loss showcased both Colorado's strengths and weaknesses.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns and continues to look like an NFL-caliber player.
The Colorado defense allowed over 500 yards of offense and completely fell apart in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
The bar was low in Colorado as the Buffaloes won just a single game last season. Their win total prior to the season was set at 3.5 games, which they have already surpassed with four wins.
Now, they must pull off two more wins in order to become bowl-eligible, which could be difficult considering the upcoming gauntlet of Pac-12 opponents. With No. 23 UCLA, No. 11 Oregon State, a dangerous Arizona team, a road game at Washington State and a road game at No. 13 Utah, the Buffaloes might have won their last game of the season.
UCLA's defense has the chance to contain Colorado's offense and allow the offense to feast on a subpar defense. UCLA is 11th in NCAAF in yards allowed per game and is coming off of a 42-7 win over Stanford.
The Bruins are a 17.5-point favorite over Colorado. While their offense might be explosive and their coach electric, overcoming the Bruins will likely prove too much to ask of a Colorado defense that allows the third-most yards per game of any Power 5 program.
The two Pac-12 rivals will face off Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PDT.
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