Here's a look at Saturday's lineups and key matchups — and a prediction from Star reporter Justin Spears.
No. 21 Arizona (6-3) at Colorado (4-5)
When: Saturday
Where: Folsom Field
Kickoff: Noon
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Arizona safety DJ Warnell Jr. (14) gestures to the crowd after defending a kick-off in the first quarter of the Wildcats’ matchup with Colorado on Oct. 1, 2022 at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona Wildcats
Record: 6-3 (4-2 Pac-12)
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
XWR | 4 | Tetairoa McMillan | 6-5 | 210 | So.
FWR | 2 | Jacob Cowing | 5-11 | 175 | Sr.
LT | 77 | Jordan Morgan | 6-5 | 325 | Sr.
LG | 72 | Wendell Moe | 6-2 | 340 | R-Fr.
C | 75 | Josh Baker | 6-3 | 305 | Jr.
RG | 79 | Raymond Pulido | 6-6 | 335 | Fr.
RT | 71 | Jonah Savaiinaea | 6-5 | 330 | So.
TE | 84 | Tanner McLachlan | 6-5 | 245 | R-Sr.
ZWR | 5 | Montana Lemonious-Craig | 6-2 | 200 | Jr.
QB | 11 | Noah Fifita | 5-11 | 194 | R-Fr.
RB | 3 | Jonah Coleman | 5-9 | 223 | So.
WHEN ARIZONA IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
KAT | 90 | Isaiah Ward | 6-5 | 225 | R-Fr.
DT | 92 | Tyler Manoa | 6-5 | 315 | Sr.
NT | 45 | Bill Norton | 6-6 | 325 | Sr.
DE | 11 | Taylor Upshaw | 6-5 | 270 | Grad.
WLB | 59 | Jacob Manu | 5-11 | 225 | So.
MLB | 10 | Justin Flowe | 6-2 | 225 | R-So.
STAR | 2 | Treydan Stukes | 6-2 | 195 | Jr.
CB | 7 | Ephesians Prysock | 6-4 | 190 | So.
CB | 23 | Tacario Davis | 6-4 | 195 | So.
BS | 43 | Dalton Johnson | 5-11 | 200 | R-So.
FS | 9 | Gunner Maldonado | 6-0 | 195 | Jr.
UA 2023 schedule
September
2 | N. ARIZONA | W, 38-3
9 | at Mississippi State | L, 31-24 (OT)
16 | UTEP | W, 31-10
23 | at Stanford | W, 21-20
30 | No. 7 WASHINGTON | L, 31-24
October
7 | at No. 9 USC | L, 43-41 (3OT)
14 | at No. 19 Washington State | W, 44-6
28 | No. 11 OREGON STATE | W, 27-24
November
4 | No. 19 UCLA | W, 27-10
11 | at Colorado | Noon
18 | No. 18 UTAH | TBD
25 | at ASU | TBD
Home games in Bold
UA 2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Fifita | 144-189-4 | 1,521 | 14 | 69
de Laura | 87-125-5 | 1,069 | 9 | 55
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Coleman | 93 | 565 | 3 | 6.1 | 62.8
Williams | 69 | 314 | 2 | 4.6 | 34.9
Wiley | 46 | 202 | 1 | 4.4 | 33.7
Luke | 27 | 145 | 1 | 5.3 | 15.8
de Laura | 20 | 131 | 3 | 6.6 | 21.8
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
McMillan | 52 | 753 | 7 | 14.5 | 83.7
Cowing | 69| 510 | 9| 7.4 | 56.7
McLachlan | 31 | 389 | 2 | 12.6 | 43.2
Coleman | 22 | 285 | 1 | 13 | 31.7
Wiley | 20 | 190 | 2 | 9.5 | 31.7
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Manu | 80 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0
Maldonado | 52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
Johnson | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3
Flowe | 40 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
Prysock | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter motions after a catch for a first down against TCU during the first half of their game, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Colorado Buffaloes
Record: 4-5 (1-5 Pac-12)
WHEN COLORADO IS ON OFFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
WR | 12 | Travis Hunter | 6-1 | 185 | So.
WR | 10 | Xavier Weaver | 6-1 | 180 | Grad.
LT | 51 | Isaiah Jatta | 6-6 | 300 | Jr.
LG | 65 | Jack Bailey | 6-3 | 280 | Grad.
C | 55 | Van Wells | 6-2 | 290 | So.
RG | 77 | Kareem Harden | 6-5 | 315 | So.
RT | 78 | Savion Washington | 6-8 | 320 | Grad.
TE | 4 | Javon Antonio | 6-4 | 225 | Jr.
WR | 5 | Jimmy Horn | 5-10 | 170 | Jr.
QB | 2 | Shedeur Sanders | 6-2 | 215 | Jr.
RB | 3 | Dylan Edwards | 5-9 | 170 | Fr.
WHEN COLORADO IS ON DEFENSE (PROJECTED):
[Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr.]
DE | 44 | Jordan Domineck | 6-3 | 250 | Grad.
DT | 99 | Shane Cokes | 6-3 | 275 | Grad..
DT | 88 | Amari McNeil | 6-4 | 295 | So.
DE | 9 | Derrick McLendon | 6-4 | 250 | R-Jr.
LB | 20 | LaVonte Bentley | 6-0 | 230 | Grad.
LB | 43 | Trevor Woods | 6-2 | 205 | Jr.
NB | 7 | Cam-Ron Silmon-Craig | 5-10 | 185 | Jr.
CB | 3 | Omarion Cooper | 6-0 | 190 | Jr.
SS | 21 | Shiloh Sanders | 6-0 | 195 | Grad
FS | 29 | Rodrick Ward | 5-11 | 185 | Jr.
CB | 12 | Travis Hunter | 6-1 | 185 | So.
Colorado 2023 schedule
September
2 | at TCU | W, 45-42
9 | NEBRASKA | W, 36-14
16 | COLORADO STATE | W, 43-35
23 | at No. 10 Oregon | L, 42-6
30 | USC | L, 48-41
October
7 | at Arizona State | W, 27-24
13 | STANFORD | L, 46-43 (2OT)
28 | at No. 23 UCLA | L, 28-16
November
4 | OREGON STATE | L, 26-19
11 | No. 21 ARIZONA | Saturday
17 | at Washington State | 8:30 p.m.
25 | at No. 18 Utah | TBD
Home games in Bold
COLORADO 2023 STATS
PASSING
[Name | Comp-Att-INT | Yards | TDs | Long]
Sanders | 270-385-3 |2,882 | 24 | 75
Staub | 1-2-0 | 3 | 0 | 3
RUSHING
[Name | Carries | Yards | TDs | Per carry | Per game]
Edwards | 63 | 268 | 1 | 4.3 | 29.8
Hankerson | 61 | 255 | 1 | 4.2 | 28.3
Wilkerson | 26 | 88 | 1 | 3.4 | 12.6
McCaskill | 14 | 59 | 0 | 4.2 | 14.8
RECEIVING
[Name | Receptions | Yards | TDs | Per catch | Per game]
Weaver | 60 | 783 | 4 | 13.1 | 87
Horn | 52 | 99 | 5 | 9.6 | 55.4
Hunter | 40 | 458 | 3 | 11.5 | 76.3
Edwards | 29 | 251 | 3 | 8.7 | 27.9
Miller | 10 | 235 | 1 | 23.5 | 33.6
Harrison | 27 | 227 | 4 | 8.4 | 25.2
DEFENSE
[Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FR | FF]
Woods | 52 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 1
Sanders | 48 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3
Bentley | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0
Ward | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1
Domineck | 38 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0
Head to Head
11 Taylor Upshaw vs. 2 Shedeur Sanders
Along with Arizona's several other DL transfer portal additions, the one-time Buffalo has complemented the Wildcats' rising sophomore edge rushers in Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, Isaiah Ward and Russell Davis II. Upshaw has 7.5 sacks this season, the most by a Wildcat since Kylan Wilborn in 2017. Upshaw could be the first Wildcat with double-digit sacks in a season since Scooby Wright accomplished 2014. Colorado has allowed 49 sacks this season — second-worst in college football.
Sanders, a Jackson State transfer and son of CU head coach Deion Sanders, is the top money-earner amongst college football players in 2023. Sanders' NIL evaluation on On3.com is estimated at $4.6 million — nearly $2 million more than Texas freshman Arch Manning and USC's defending Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and likely No. 1 draft choice Caleb Williams. Sanders has thrown for 2,882 yards, 24 touchdowns and three interceptions, but has been sacked 45 times.
Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing (2) stiff arms his way to more yardage past Colorado safety Tyrin Taylor (5) in the third quarter of their Pac 12 football game at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., October 1, 2022.
2 Jacob Cowing vs. 21 Shilo Sanders
Cowing notched a career-high 180 receiving yards on 12 catches in the Wildcats' 43-20 win over Colorado last season in Tucson. In the last three games combined, Cowing has 22 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also leads the Pac-12 with 69 catches. Cowing recently had a pivotal role as a punt returner in Arizona's win over Oregon State, returning two punts for 36 yards in the fourth quarter.
The other son of Sanders was "moving on up like the Jeffersons" in the coach's favorite child rankings, after the DB forced two turnovers in a rivalry win over Colorado State: “I’m the only one that’s honest about ranking my kids. You guys act like you all love them the same and you don’t. I don’t know why y’all act like that.” Both Sanders bros are expected to return to Colorado next season and enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes (20) stands up Colorado quarterback Owen McCown (7) on his scramble outside in the second quarter of their Pac 12 football game at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., October 1, 2022.
The matchup
When Arizona has the ball …
Washington State 2.0 for Arizona. In the Wildcats' 44-6 win over the Cougars, the UA took advantage of WSU's shaky rushing defense that's surrendering just over 160 yards per game. The only Pac-12 teams worse than the Cougars are Colorado and USC. Arizona ran for 174 yards in Pullman and three running backs combined for five touchdowns. Senior running back Michael Wiley exited last week's win over UCLA with another lower-leg injury, but even if Arizona's reliable and versatile running back is unavailable, the Wildcats have a formidable trio with Jonah Coleman, DJ Williams and Rayshon Luke. Coupled with a dominant run-blocking offensive line, the Wildcats should impose their will on Saturday in Boulder.
When Colorado has the ball …
How much better offensively is Colorado compared to its 1-11 season in 2022? Despite having the ninth-best offense in the Pac-12, the Buffaloes are averaging 389.7 yards per game; last year they averaged 281.3. After averaging just 15.4 points per game last season, was the fifth-worst in college football, Colorado is posting 30.7 points per contest and averaging 5.3 yards per play.
Prediction: No. 21 Arizona 31, Colorado 23
Defense travels and so does running the football. The Wildcats are riding off the emotions of playing in five consecutive games against ranked opponents, going 3-2 in that span with losses to Washington and USC by a combined nine points. The Wildcats have either won or been competitive in every single contest this season. And Colorado's weaknesses matchup with Arizona's strengths, like protecting the quarterback and stopping the run. The trench battle heavily favors the Wildcats. Saturday in Boulder has "trap game" written all over it but until the Wildcats show a let-down performance, they'll continue to ride this hot streak.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch held his final news conference of the week on Thursday as the No. 21 Wildcats prepare to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon in Boulder. Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star
