Deion Sanders and Colorado are ready to flush last week's embarrassing loss to Utah. The Buffaloes are in desperate need of a bounce-back performance as they host Arizona on Saturday night at Folsom Field.
Colorado (3-5) faces a must-win game against Arizona (4-3) to keep bowl eligibility hopes alive. A bowl game is the only realistic goal left for Coach Prime's team this year, and the odds would be slim if they can't take down Arizona at home.
The one thing you can say about Colorado positively last week is that they didn't completely quit in the second half in Salt Lake City. They got their butts kicked - the worst Sanders has ever experienced - but after losing the first half 43-0, Colorado only lost the second half 10-7. Sure, Utah called off the dogs, but that wouldn't have likely mattered if the players had outright quit.
In fact, they might have found a little bit of offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter with redshirt sophomore Ryan Staub replacing senior Kaidon Salter. Sanders didn't reveal if there would be a change at QB this week, but Staub getting his second start of the season wouldn't be a surprise.
A win would position the Buffs to only need to win two of their final three games to get to six wins. A loss would mean they would need to win out, something that's unlikely with two of the final three games coming on the road.
Colorado's performance against Arizona will dictate the decision Sanders makes coming out of next week's bye. A loss here might force his hand to play freshman Julian Lewis the rest of the season. He's been unwilling to burn Lewis' redshirt, but he's only played one game, and there are only three games left after this week.
Hopefully, Colorado can make that decision tougher with a win at home tonight.
Betting Odds for Colorado vs. Arizona
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 12pm ET
Spread: Colorado +3.5
Over/Under: 53.5
Moneyline: Colorado +148
Final prediction for Colorado vs. Arizona
The spread has been moving in Colorado's direction since the opening. At the beginning of the week, Arizona was a 5.5-point favorite. That's been bet down to 3.5 as sharps clearly believe Colorado is due for a bounce-back performance.
So do we.
I think Staub starts at QB and delivers in a big way. I expect it to be a bit of a shootout as Colorado is unlikely to have an answer for Arizona QB Noah Fifita.
Colorado isn't as bad as they looked last week against Utah. They'll prove that this week with an impressive performance to score a much-needed home win over the Wildcats.