The 55 points hung on the Buffs were a season high. Players on both sides of the ball will remember how the Tigers toyed with the Buffs in Folsom in 2007.
3) Cruise control. If Missouri is 7-0, or even 6-1, coming into the game with Colorado, they will be playing with great confidence.
Beat Nebraska and Texas—teams which have completely dominated the Tigers over the years—and a schedule of Colorado, at Baylor, Kansas State, and at Iowa State will not intimidate the home team.
Tiger fans will already be making BCS travel plans when the Buffs come to town.
Missouri game to keep an eye on before the Colorado/Missouri game:
Missouri at Nebraska, Oct. 4. It’s tempting to put down the Missouri/Illinois game on Aug. 30. The Illini may turn out to be the highest-ranked team the Tigers play all season.
The Nebraska game, however, will be a true sign of how far the Tigers have come. Missouri thumped Nebraska, 41-6, last season in Columbia. A similar showing in 2008 would serve notice on the rest of the Big 12 North that the Missouri Tigers are the class of the division.
A loss to the Cornhuskers, though, and the division is wide open.
My thoughts: It’s August, and there is no rational reason to pick the Buffs to win this game. Missouri has a talented quarterback and a plethora of receivers to throw to, and the Buffs are weak in pass defense.
The Tigers will be at home, and the Buffs struggle on the road. Last season’s score: Missouri 55, Colorado 10. It will be closer in 2008. How much closer is hard to say, but to me, this is the most likely "L" on the Buffs’ schedule.
Nov. 1 at Texas A&M
Fast facts: Texas A&M will be the fourth team in the first nine games for Colorado in 2008 which will be led by a new head coach.
Out is Dennis Franchione, 23-24 in four seasons at College Station (including a 7-6 record in 2007). In is former A&M assistant coach and former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman.
Laid back has been ditched for attack, as Sherman is noted for creating defenses designed to attack the offense, rather than read-and-react.
The question is whether Sherman has the horses to do what he intends, at least in his first season. The Aggies gave up 255 yards passing per game last season (92nd in the nation in that category), and sacked the opposing quarterback only 18 times.
There is little in the way of returning talent, as only four starters on defense are back. As a result, depth and experience will work against the A&M in 2008.
On offense, there is no clear cut favorite at starting quarterback. Stephen McGee is the returning starter, but McGee is geared more towards the option attack of Franchione, not the pro-style attack of Sherman.
That issue will have to be ironed out well before the Buffs travel to face the Aggies.
Why Buff fans should look forward to this game with optimism:
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