The Colorado Buffaloes travel to the Rose Bowl on Saturday to take on the UCLA Bruins. The Buffs are flying high after a thrilling double-overtime upset victory against the Oregon State Beavers on homecoming night.
Folsom Field was electric, Brendon Lewis was clicking and Jarek Broussard ran for a season-high in yards. In turn, the Beavers fired their defensive coordinator a day later, perhaps because the Buffs went to town despite notching just the third win of the season.
Cole Becker’s field goal was the play of the night, of course.
However, UCLA is a different breed, even with the recent struggles of Chip Kelly’s squad. Things won’t be as easy for the Buffs. In fact, Pac-12 analyst Nick Bartlett has UCLA handling the Buffs by nearly two touchdowns on Saturday (h/t Sports Pac-12).
Even though Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis had his best outing of the year against Oregon State, the Buffs are still the Buffs. UCLA’s defense is a different animal. Expect the Bruin’s to blitz relentlessly and turn Lewis back into his “pre-Beav” form. For the Bruins, this contest should prove the beginning of a three-game winnable stretch to end their regular season.
Yes, UCLA is a different animal and provides a tough matchup for the Buffs in every aspect. Even worse is the fact that the Buffs have to play in Los Angeles, in front of a wild UCLA crowd.
Karl Dorrell returns to UCLA, although this likely won’t be an enjoyable trip for him and his program. Still, nobody knows what will happen until the game is played.
After all, crazy things have happened in the college football season.