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Friday Fast Facts – Arizona Week
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Leading off …
— “T.I.P.S” … Our weekly preview postings are available for your review and comment. My weekly written preview, along with my predictions for CU’s trip to the desert can be found here. The CU at the Game Podcast Review/Preview, looking back at the Kansas State game, and previewing the Arizona game, can be found at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and … the podcast can also be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— America’s Team … The brand value of the Buffs under Coach Prime remains strong, despite failing to enter the Top 25 thus far this season. The Buffs are still everybody’s Super Bowl. Colorado has been each of their opponent’s most viewed game this season…
- North Dakota State’s most watched game: at Colorado (4.8M)
- Nebraska’s most watched game: vs Colorado (6.3M)
- Colorado State’s most watched game: vs Colorado (3.2M)
- Baylor’s most watched game: at Colorado (3.6M)
- UCF’s most watched game: vs Colorado (4.1M)
- Kansas State’s most watched game: at Colorado (3.3M)
— Seven-for-seven … The Colorado/Arizona game will mark CU’s seventh consecutive game this season played before a national television audience. CU’s next game, the Family Weekend “Blackout” home game against Cincinnati, will be televised by ESPN (8:15 p.m., MT, kickoff), making the Buffs eight-for-eight (and with the Black Friday game against Oklahoma State already set for an ABC telecast, there will be a minimum of nine games on national television for CU this fall). For some perspective, the national championship CU team in 1990 played nationally televised games … seven times;
— Not so hot … While the Buffs will play in Tucson in midday on Saturday (2:00 p.m., MT; 1:00 p.m., local). Instead of facing 100-degree weather in the desert, the current forecast high for Saturday’s game? 74-degrees;
— Another sell out … Arizona announced two weeks ago that the game against CU was sold out – believed to be one of the quickest sellouts in program history. … This will be the 17th time in CU’s 19 games under Coach Prime that it will play in front of a sold-out stadium. With the Cincinnati home game next weekend already a sell out (it’s been sold out since August), and CU’s next game, on the road against Texas Tech, already sold out, the Coach Prime era will soon hit 19 sell-outs in 21 games;
— The ESPN Power Index … sees the CU/Arizona game as a Buff victory. The Buffs are given a 58.8% chance of winning; the Wildcats, 41.2%. Last weekend, Kansas State was given a 52.1%-47.9% edge;
— The game will be telecast nationally by Fox, with Jason Benetti on the play-by-play, Brock Huard on color, and Allison Williams on the sidelines. 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst.
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Colorado & Arizona … historical
In historical terms, Colorado has it all over Arizona.
It’s not that Colorado had much of a head start (CU started playing football in 1890; Arizona 1899), but that the Buffs have had much more consistent success over the decades.
In the 12 categories tracked by Winsipedia, Colorado leads Arizona in 11 … with the only category the Wildcats hold an edge over the Buffs is in bowl record percentage (Arizona: .477; 10-11-1; Colorado: .400, 12-18)
Otherwise …
— CU has a sizable lead in all-time wins, with 727 (30th all-time), while Arizona is at 636 (58th all-time);
— CU has a similar lead in time spent in the Associated Press poll, with 308 weeks (29th), compared to Arizona’s 178 weeks (54th);
— When it comes to producing NFL talent, the Buffs are also comfortably ahead of the Wildcats. CU has had 276 NFL picks (28th) and 24 first round picks (29th), compared to Arizona’s 187 (50th) and 11 (55th);
— Perhaps the widest gap is in conference championships. Colorado has 26 in its history (12th nationally), while Arizona has six titles in its 119-year history (92nd nationally).
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CU & Arizona … on the field …
— Colorado holds a 16-10 advantage in the all-time series against Arizona … but … the Wildcats hold an 9-4 advantage since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011 … but … In games played in Tucson, the Buffs hold a 9-4 advantage;
— Colorado won the first 12 games of the series, one of the longest runs for the Buffs against any opponent. The first game was a 27-7 win in Tucson in 1931. The teams then played ten games in 11 years between 1949 and 1960, with the Buffs winning them all. The teams split a pair in 1984-85 before not playing until the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011;
— Maybe 14 would be enough … In the 26-game series against Arizona, the Buffs have been held to 14 points only twice … but won both games (14-0 in 1955; 14-13 in 1985);
— In an otherwise forgettable (and regrettable) game against Arizona in 2017 … Kahlil Tate introduced himself to the Buff Nation with 327 rushing yards in a 45-42 Wildcat victory. In a losing effort, Phillip Lindsay had 281 rushing yards. The 608 combined rushing yards remains an NCAA record for two players in a single game. Oh … and Kahlil Tate will be in town for Arizona’s Homecoming, serving as an honorary captain.
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Stats Worth Noting …
— Keep an eye on T-Mac … Not only is Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan third in the nation in receiving yards, and 12th in the nation in receptions per game (7.0), T-Mac is also first in the nation in the nation in missed tackles forced ,with 19. Translation: T-Mac is only good at catching the ball, he is good at breaking tackles after the catch … a worrisome stat for any defensive backfield;
— Buffs’ Strong Defense … 15 Power Four Defenses which have held EVERY opponent below their season averages (per-play): • BYU • California • Colorado • Duke • Houston • Kentucky • Michigan • Nebraska • Ole Miss • Oregon • South Carolina • Tennessee • Texas • Texas A&M • Wisconsin … Arizona’s offensive season average, per play … 6.25 yards/play (47th nationally)
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Player Notes …
— Buffs in the Big 12 … Some of the rankings for CU players at mid-season:
- Shedeur Sanders leads the Big 12 in passing yds (2,018)
- Travis Hunter leads the Big 12 in catches (49)
- LaJohntay Wester is tied for the Big 12 lead in TD catches (7)
- DJ McKinney is tied for the Big 12 lead in PBUs (5)
- Cam Silmon-Craig is 2nd in the Big 12 in solo tackles (36)
— Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has 2.018 yards passing after six games this season, 4th in the nation. Sanders is also seventh in total offense (1,993 yards) and sixth in passing touchdowns (17);
— Against Kansas State, Sanders set three school records, breaking two records he already owned:
- Consecutive pass completions (16), previous record: 15—Mike Moschetti vs. San Jose State and Kansas in Boulder, Sept. 11-18, 1999 (two games);
- Highest completion percentage, at least 30 passes (85%), previous record: 80.9 (38-of-47), Shedeur Sanders at TCU, Sept. 2, 2023; (38-of-47), Shedeur Sanders vs. Colorado State, Sept. 16, 2023; and
- Highest completion percentage, at least 40 passes (85%), previous record: 80.9 (38-of-47), Shedeur Sanders at TCU, Sept. 2, 2023; (38-of-47), Shedeur Sanders vs. Colorado State, Sept. 16, 2023.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Three Big 12 teams ranked … Iowa State (No. 9); BYU (No. 13); and Kansas State (No. 17) are the only Big 12 teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this week;
— When the season started, Colorado was scheduled to play five ranked teams: No. 12 Utah; No. 17 Oklahoma State; No. 18 Kansas State, No. 21 Arizona; and No. 22 Kansas. Since then, Utah, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Kansas have fallen out of the Top 25 … Which means that Colorado, after facing six ranked teams in 2023, could wind up facing only one ranked team in 2024 (Kansas State). There is a possibility that Texas Tech, currently 5-1, 3-0, and ranked No. 32 in the AP poll could join the rankings before the Buffs travel to Lubbock on November 9th);
— Revisiting the Big 12 preseason media poll … Conference records for the top and bottom 5:
- Top 5 (Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Arizona): 4-11; K-State is the only one with a winning record;
- Bottom 5 (Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona State): 8-7; three of the five have winning records
— Big 12 Week Eight – Game times and odds …
From DraftKings.com …
From the Big 12 …
Friday, October 18th
- Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU … 8:15 p.m., MT, ESPN … BYU is a 9.0-point home favorite …
Saturday, October 19th
- Arizona State at Cincinnati … 10:00 a.m., MT, ESPN+ … Cincinnati is a 2.5-point home favorite …
- Houston at Kansas … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Kansas is a 6.5-point home favorite …
- Colorado at Arizona … 2:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Arizona is a 3.5-point home favorite …
- Baylor at Texas Tech … 2:00 p.m., MT, ESPN2 … Texas Tech is a 6.5-point home favorite …
- UCF at No. 9 Iowa State … 5:30 p.m., MT, FS1 … Iowa State is a 13.5-point home favorite …
- No. 17 Kansas State at West Virginia … 5:30 p.m., MT, Fox … West Virginia is a 3.5-point home underdog …
- TCU at Utah … 8:30 p.m., MT, ESPN. Utah is a 7.0-point home favorite …
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