Oct. 28th – No. 23 UCLA – What Now?

The Colorado offense, last in the nation in sacks allowed, was exposed early and often as No. 23 UCLA slowly pulled away in the second half, posting a 28-16    win before a sold out Rose Bowl crowd. Buff quarterback Shedeur Sanders was harassed and hit all night, suffering seven sacks and numerous other hits. A strong early effort by the Buff defense, which generated four first half turnovers, was wasted as the CU offense netted all of three points off of those opportunities.

The UCLA offense, kept to a 7-6 lead at halftime, methodically pulled away in the second half, finishing with 487 yards of total offense. The Buff offense, meanwhile, posted only 255 yards of total offense … with 86 yards of that total coming in CU’s only touchdown drive of the contest late in the fourth quarter. Shedeur Sanders completed 27-of-43 passes for only 217 yards, with other totals – 24 pressures; 17 hits; 13 knockdowns; seven sacks – telling the true story of the game.

“Offensively, we’ve got to improve,” Coach Prime said. “Our quarterback is taking a beating. (Shedeur Sanders) got an injection at halftime just to block some of the pain… We have to do a better job of protecting him … Running the football, we’ve had a couple lineman go down (with injuries), but that’s no excuse.”

Coach Prime this past week asked his team: “What you gonna with your now?” … After giving up seven sacks and not being able to generate a rushing attack (again), Buff fans are asking the same question as the calendar turns to November: “What now?” …

Game Day! … “Every snap has got to be important to you, every single one” … Can the Buffs find a way to score against the Pac-12’s No. 1 scoring defense? … Neill Woelk’s Keys for the UCLA game … *Coach Prime’s College Football Coaches Show* …

Buffs set record for national network appearances … Coach Prime: “You should see a tremendous improvement (in what?) this Saturday” … Lacerated liver? What lacerated liver? … CU the only Pac-12 road underdog this weekend …

Best/worst case scenarios for Pac-2/Pac-10 … CBS: Unless CU found new defensive linemen over the break, UCLA should roll the Buffs … Michigan State joins ASU and Stanford in CBS Sports Bottom 25 …

Who will start at QB for the Bruins (here’s guessing its Ethan Garbers)? … Will Buff fans become all-too familiar with the name Laiatu Latu on Saturday night? … Did you know CU is 3-1 coming off of bye weeks the past four seasons? … Which CU single season passing record does Shedeur Sanders already own? …

Midseason report card; Our review the first half of the season … “T.I.P.S.” for CU at No. 23 UCLA … Is it “Shedeur or bust” for the CU offense, with UCLA boasting the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation? … Can the CU defense get enough stops to keep the Bruin offense in check? … Let’s find out …

Colorado is in the bottom ten in the nation in pass defense, total defense and scoring defense … Can the bye week get the Buffs healthy? Can the coaching staff find personnel groupings to keep CU competitive? Can the secondary (six INTs in first three games; two since) become ballhawks once again? …

Shedeur Sanders is poised to re-write the CU single season record book, and Xavier Weaver is well on his way to becoming just the 11th Buff wide out with over 1,000 yards receiving … But a weak rushing attack and an ineffective offensive line have kept the Buffs from achieving even greater heights …