Field Pass: Matchups, starters and stats to know for Arizona vs. Colorado

Game info

Who: Colorado Buffaloes (5-3, 2-3 Pac-12) at Arizona Wildcats (4-5, 3-3) 

Where: Arizona Stadium

When: 7:45 p.m. Friday

Watch: Fox Sports 1

Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

Head to head: Nate Landman vs. Khalil Tate

53 Nate Landman, ILB, Colorado

Figuring out a way to contain Khalil Tate has been a weeklong focal point for the CU defense. Landman is by far the Buffs’ leading tackler with 84, including 12 for losses and five for no gain. Landman will track Tate’s every move.

14 Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona

For reasons that have been well-chronicled, Tate isn’t the same player who rushed for a record 327 yards vs. Colorado last season, but he can be effective in other ways. He has matched last season’s 14 TD passes while cutting his INTs from nine to five.

Head to head: Travon McMillian vs. Colin Schooler

34 Travon McMillian, RB, Colorado

The graduate transfer from Virginia Tech ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game (97.2). McMillian has been a workhorse for CU, totaling 20 or more carries in four of the past five weeks. He has topped 100 yards five times in eight games.

7 Colin Schooler, MLB, Arizona

Schooler ranks first in the Pac-12 and second nationally with 16 TFLs. He probably has a different takeaway from last year’s CU game: Phillip Lindsay rushed for 281 yards. Schooler and his teammates can’t let it happen again.

When Colorado has the ball...

With McMillian running and the much-improved Steven Montez throwing, the Buffs are the only team in the Pac-12 to rank in the top five in rushing and passing. But the key to their attack is Laviska Shenault Jr., who, when healthy, might be the best player in the league. Shenault missed the past two games because of a toe injury and is considered day to day. The Wildcats must prepare as if he’s playing.

When Arizona has the ball...

The Wildcats have rediscovered their run game the past two weeks, and that’s the biggest reason they scored 30-plus points in each game. J.J. Taylor will be asked to carry a heavy load if Gary Brightwell (ankle) can’t play. If Arizona can run effectively, look for Tate and his receivers to test a banged-up CU secondary with play-action passes. Senior wideouts Shawn Poindexter and Shun Brown have combined for 10 touchdowns.

Lev's game prediction

Arizona just thumped a ranked Oregon team in a performance that could signal a turning point for the program. Colorado just blew a 31-3 second-half lead at home against lowly Oregon State. So the Wildcats should roll, right? Not necessarily. The Buffs are in crisis mode and will play with a renewed sense of urgency. The Cats must prove they can handle success. It says here that they can — and will.

Arizona 28, Colorado 24

Colorado projected starters

Offense

XWR 3 K.D. Nixon 5-8 185 So. 

ZWR 18 Tony Brown 6-1 190 Jr.

LT 78 William Sherman 6-4 290 Fr.

LG 64 Aaron Haigler 6-7 295 Jr.  

C 65 Colby Pursell 6-4 290 Fr.

RG 56 Tim Lynott Jr. 6-3 300 Jr.  

RT 76 Frank Fillip 6-7 280 Fr.

HWR 14 Jay MacIntyre 5-10 185 Sr.   

YWR Juwann Winfree 6-3 215 Sr.

QB 12 Steven Montez 6-5 230 Jr.  

TB 34 Travon McMillian 6-0 210 Sr.

Defense

LDE 95 Israel Antwine 6-4 315 Fr.

NT 33 Javier Edwards 6-3 325 Sr. 

RDE 34 Mustafa Johnson 6-2 290 So.

OLB 20 Drew Lewis 6-2 225 Sr.  

ILB 53 Nate Landman 6-3 220 So. 

ILB 32 Rick Gamboa 6-0 230 Sr.  

BUFF 5 Davion Taylor 6-2 220 Jr.

LCB 4 Dante Wigley 6-1 195 Jr.

FS 7 Nick Fisher 6-0 190 Sr.   

SS 3 Derrion Rakestraw 6-2 190 So. 

RCB 8 Trey Udoffia 6-0 185 So. 

Arizona projected starters

Offense

WR 18 Cedric Peterson 5-11 193 Jr.

SLOT 6 Shun Brown 5-10 188 Sr.

LT 58 Layth Friekh 6-5 297 Sr.

RT 76 Cody Creason 6-4 294 Jr.

C 50 Josh McCauley 6-3 292 So.

RG 75 Michael Eletise 6-3 323 So.

RT 78 Donovan Laie 6-4 318 Fr.

SLOT 9 Tony Ellison 5-11 189 Sr.

WR 19 Shawn Poindexter 6-5 218 Sr.

RB 21 J.J. Taylor 5-6 184 So

QB 14 Khalil Tate 6-2 215 Jr.

Defense

DE 12 JB Brown 6-3 263 So.

NT 99 Dereck Boles 6-2 306 Sr.

DE 52 PJ Johnson 6-4 335 Jr.

STUD 49 Jalen Harris 6-4 230 Fr.

MLB 7 Colin Schooler 6-0 236 So.

WLB 1 Tony Fields II 6-1 230 So.

SPUR 31 Tristan Cooper 6-1 194 Jr. 

BANDIT 6 D. Flannigan-Fowles 6-2 209 Sr.

BC 2 Lorenzo Burns 5-10 181 So.

FC 20 Azizi Hearn 6-1193 Fr.

FS 19Scottie Young Jr.5-11 195So.

Buffaloes statistics

Passing

Montez 182-267-4 Cmp-Att-Int, 2,053 Yds, 14 TDs, 89 Lg

MacIntyre 1-1-0 Cmp-Att-Int, 31 Yds, 0 TDs, 31 Lg

Rushing

McMillian 8 Games, 147 Car., 778 Yds, 5 TDs, 5.2 Avg

Montez 8 Games, 57 Car., 226 Yds, 4 TDs, 3.9 Avg

Evans 8 Games, 52 Car., 167 Yds, 2 TDs, 3.2 Avg

Bisharat 8 Games, 21 Car., 143 Yds, 0 TDs, 6.8 Avg

Shenault 6 Games, 15 Car., 87 Yds, 5 TDs, 5.8 Avg

Fontenot 8 Games, 11 Car., 43 Yds, 1 TD, 3.9 Avg

Receiving

Shenault 6 Games, 60 Rec., 780 Yds, 6 TDs, 13.0 Avg

Dixon 8 Games, 46 Rec., 560 Yds, 3 TDs, 12.2 Avg

Brown 8 Games, 27 Rec., 289 Yds, 0 TDs, 10.7 Avg

Defense

Landman 84 Tk, 3 Sk, 2 Int, 0 FR

Gamboa 57 Tk, 0 Sk, 1 Int, 0 FR

Johnson 56 Tk, 7.5 Sk, 0 Int, 1 FR

Worthington 43 Tk, 1 Sk, 1 Int, 0 FR

Taylor 38 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 2 FR

Wildcats statistics

Passing

Tate 114-211-5 Cmp-Att-Int, 1,604 Yds, 14 TDs, 75 Lg

Rodriguez 41-79-2 Cmp-Att-Int, 506 Yds, 3 TDs, 42 Lg

Rushing

Taylor 9 Games, 167 Car., 1,029 Yds, 6 TDs, 6.2 Avg

Brightwell 9 Games, 84 Car., 474 Yds, 2 TDs, 5.6 Avg

Tate 8 Games, 53 Car., 138 Yds, 2 TDs, 2.6 Avg

Marsical 9 Games, 16 Car., 76 Yds, 1 TD, 4.8 Avg

Smith 2 Games, 15 Car., 62 Yds, 1 TD, 4.1 Avg

Brown 9 Games, 2 Car., 40 Yds, 0 TDs, 20 Avg

Receiving

Poindexter 9 Games, 32 Rec., 582 Yds, 6 TDs, 18.1 Avg

Brown 9 Games, 46 Rec., 485 Yds, 4 TDs, 10.5 Avg

Ellison 9 Games, 21 Rec., 372 Yds, 2 TDs, 17.7 Avg

Defense

Schooler 92 Tk, 2 Sk, 2 Int, 1 FR

Fields 63 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR

Wallace 52 Tk, 0 Sk, 1 Int, 0 FR

Flannigan-Fowles 39 Tk, 0 Sk, 0 Int, 0 FR

Burns 31 Tk, 1 Sk, 0 Int, 1 FR