Colorado State Football Opponents: Previewing Colorado University

This yearly matchup, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, has traditionally been a hard-fought, tough game.  Last year's game went into overtime, with CU winning the game 31-28.

This is coach Dan Hawkins' third year, and with his improvement from year one to year two—2-10 record in year one, and then 6-6 in year two before losing to Alabama in the Independence Bowl—year three could be the start of something very good for the Buffs, who expect to be near the top of the Big XII North.

Offense

The Buffs will be led by the coach's son, third-year sophomore Cody Hawkins, who is the quarterback and is entering his second year as a starter.  Hawkins had a breakout year, passing for over 3,000 yards and 22 touchdowns, and should be even better in his third year as a starter.

With six returning starters on the team, there should be more efficiency in the 2008 campaign.  The top returning running back is Demetrius Sumler, who played sparingly last year and will be battling Brian Lockridge for playing time this upcoming season.

As for the receiving crew, the Buffaloes have multiple receivers returning, which should help out the passing game that emerged last season.  Last season the team averaged a solid 27 points per game, and they look to be more consistent this year with their scoring offense.

Top Returning Offensive Players

Cody Hawkins QB 3,015 yards 56% 22 TD 17 INT

Demetrius Sumler RB 335 Yards 4 TD

Brian Lockridge RB 205 Yards 1 TD

Scotty McKnight WR 555 Yards 4 TD

Defense 

The Buffalo defense returns eight starters and should improve on their performance from last year, where they gave up 29 points per game.  The experience of these players being together should increase production.

Colorado plays a basic 4-3 defense and gave up 389 yards per game, ranking 64th nationally in that category.  The best part of their defense was against the rush, where they ranked 31st nationally, but they were just 103rd versus the pass.

Their turnover margin needs to improve—it was -.33 per game, and that reflects on the offense and defense.  As it goes for the defense, the Buffs they had 21 turnovers through either fumbles or interceptions, which is not too bad.

The Buffs will need to improve their rush defense, especially against the Rams, who have two good backs in Kyle Bell and Gatrell Johnson III.

Early Projection 

This is a tough one because the last six games have been decided by 4.1 points, with Colorado winning four of those matchups.  Both teams always play each other tough because this is a rivalry game—look for this to be the same, with the team that has the ball last winning.

The edge goes to the Buffs because they return their starting quarterback.