Colorado (3-1) at Central Florida (3-0)
When/where: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, FBC Mortgage Stadium
TV/Radio: KDVR-31/850 AM
BetMGM Line: UCF -14, 64.5 over/under
Weather: Cloudy and humid with a 35% chance of rain, 88 degrees at kickoff
Three storylines
Hurricane Helene: With Tropical Storm Helene threatening to become a hurricane this week, the Buffs headed to Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday to beat the weather. More than 60 Florida counties, mostly along the Gulf Coast, have declared a state of emergency. While Orlando, smack dab in the middle of the state, isn’t in the storm’s direct path, it likely will get plenty of wind and rain — and travel in the region could be impacted. CU’s equipment truck left Tuesday to make the drive.
Going the distance: The new-look Big 12 is really, really big. And CU is about to get its first taste of just how big it is. The Buffs have played in the Eastern time zone just three times since 2010, with their last trip coming back in 2016: a 45-28 loss at Michigan. Orlando is 600 miles farther than that visit to Ann Arbor and has a dramatically different climate, which should bump up the difficulty factor even more. CU has five Floridians on the roster, including Hail Mary hero LaJohntay Wester. Still, a win on Saturday would demonstrate some serious mettle.
Sensing a theme: After Baylor sacked Shedeur Sanders eight times last week, the Heisman hopeful is tied with UMass’ Taisun Phommachanh as the second-most-sacked quarterback in college football with 15. (Cal’s Fernando Mendoza tops the list with 16.) The good news for the Buffs this week? UCF has a grand total of one sack through three games, so it’s quite possible the Golden Knights don’t have the personnel or defensive scheme to make that a problem in Orlando. Still, if the Buffs offensive line doesn’t make significant strides, Sanders could end up the most-sacked QB in FBS for the second straight year.
Predictions
Kyle Newman, sportswriter: CU 38, UCF 34
The Golden Knights have looked good so far, including erasing a three-TD deficit two weeks ago to beat TCU on a last-second score. The Buffs showed some grit in their dramatic comeback win over Baylor, but also got lucky on a blown coverage on the final play of regulation that led to the converted Hail Mary to force OT. CU’s leaky O-line gave up eight sacks for 52 yards, so I’m not convinced there’s been progress up front. However, Shedeur Sanders has ice in his veins and Travis Hunter is an unstoppable two-way force. That alone was enough to push the Buffs to victory last Saturday. It will be again this week.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: UCF 32, CU 24
Florida was kind to the Broncos, but the Bucs didn’t have KJ Jefferson running the show behind center, either. Baylor QB Sawyer Robinson racked up 82 yards on nine totes in Boulder, and almost all of those were on designed runs. Take out his 45-yard TD, and Robinson still averaged 4.6 per rush on his other eight attempts. An improved Buffs D across the board has to clean that up, and it’ll have to do it while sliding around a wet track on the road. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter aren’t out of any game that’s within single digits late. Gus Malzahn will make sure this one won’t be.
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Matt Schubert, sports editor: CU 35, UCF 34
The scheduling gods gave UCF an advantage with an extra week to prepare for what could easily be the best passing attack the Golden Knights face all season. Still, it’s unclear if the Golden Knights actually have a defense capable of doing anything with that extra preparation. What will be more interesting is seeing how CU’s improved run defense fares against dual-threat QB KJ Jefferson and a Golden Knights offense averaging 375.7 yards per game on the ground. One thing we know for certain: NOBODY should be favored by more than a touchdown in a Big 12 game.
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