COLORADO BUFFALOS (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Boulder, Colorado Conference/affiliation: Big 12 Head coach: Deion Sanders (Florida State, 1988) Selection | Statistics | Game Notes	COLORADO (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) against. BAYLOR (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) Sept. 21 • 7:00 PM CT Boulder, CO • Folsum Field (50,183) LIVE STATISTICS: Broadcast statistics WATCH: FOX Talent: Connor Ui (PBP), Mark Helfrich (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via ESPN 1660 AM/92.3 FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com Talent: John Morris (PBP), JJ Joe (Analyst), Ricky Thompson (Sildeline) SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 137 or 200 or on the SXM app Baylor Social Media:
	BAYLOR BEARS (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/affiliation: Big 12 Head coach: Dave Aranda (Cal Lutheran, 1999) Selection | Statistics | Match Notes (PDF)

WACO, Texas — Baylor will face Colorado in a Big 12 Conference clash on Saturday, kicking off at Folsum Field at 7:00 p.m. CT.

The game will be televised live on FOX, with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst) calling the action. The Baylor Sports Media Network will also carry the game, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), and BU greats JJ Joe (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline) on the call. ESPN Radio will also carry the game, with Mike Couzens (play-by-play), Max Starks (analyst) and Mike Peasley (sideline).

The Bears (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) are coming off a 31-3 win over Air Force on Saturday, with 28 unanswered points that limited the Falcons to just 23 rushing yards in the second half. It was the first time since 2003 that a non-service academy held Air Force without a touchdown.

Baylor is the nation’s best in passing defense and ranks 12th in the NCAA in total defense and scoring defense.

IN SEARCH OF THE BUFFS

• Colorado is led by second-year head coach Deion Sanders, who took over the program after a historic run at Jackson State, where he went 27-6 in three seasons with a pair of Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships, including an 11-2 mark in 2021 and a 12-1 record in 2022. Sanders is one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of the sport, as a former two-time All-American two-way player at Florida State who won the Thorpe Award in 1988 and set the FSU record with 14 career interceptions, three of which went home. He played in the NFL from 1989-2005, throwing 53 interceptions while also catching 60 passes for 784 yards and three TDs as a WR. He had 19 career TDs on returns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 after his 14-year NFL career featured nine All-Pro selections. In addition to his football career, Sanders was a sixth-round MLB Draft pick who played 11 seasons in professional baseball. His sons, Shilo and Shedeur, are key members of the CU roster after transferring to Boulder from Jackson State.
• Gary Harrell is the associate head coach and running backs coach after joining Sanders from Jackson State, with previous stops at Alabama State, FAU, Howard, Bowie State, Morgan State, Florida A&M and Texas Southern. Robert Livingston is the defensive coordinator and safeties coach and Pat Shurmur is the offensive coordinator and QBs coach, after previously serving as co-offensive coordinator and analyst for CU in 2023, as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos and as head coach of the New York Giants from 2018-19. Livingston was the safeties and DB coach for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2016-23.
• The Buffs opened the year with a 31-26 win over FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, lost 28-10 at Nebraska and then posted a win over Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins. Led by their dynamic QB, Shedeur Sanders, the Buffs have averaged 394 yards per game, including 333 through the air. CU has allowed 21 points per game and given up 374.3 yards per game. Sanders has thrown nine touchdowns with just two interceptions. Two-way forward Travis Hunter has 30 catches for 342 yards and five touchdowns. Lajohntay Wester has 14 catches for 158 yards and three scores.
• Defensively, DJ McKinney leads the team with 21 tackles and four pass breakups. Dayon Hayes has two sacks to lead the team.
• Rick George has been Colorado’s AD since 2013, a role he has held since serving as COO of the Texas Rangers for three years. He was Chief of Operations for the PGA Tour and was President of the Champions Tour from 2003-08. George, a former cornerback at Illinois, was Colorado’s football recruiting coordinator during the program’s best run in history before moving to Vanderbilt as Associate AD for External Affairs, overseeing the football program. Jason DePaepe is in his second year as Deputy AD and fourth year overseeing internal operations. He has spent 22 years at Colorado, including 12 years as athletics turf manager.

LAST MEETING

• Baylor won the last meeting in the series on Oct. 16, 2010, in Boulder, 31-25, in a night game played before 48,953 spectators in 63-degree weather at kickoff. The Bears answered a first-quarter TD with a nine-yard score from Robert Griffin III to Jerod Monk before falling behind 15-7 late in the second quarter. An Aaron Jones 50-yard field goal cut the lead to 15-10 at halftime as the Bears drove 39 yards on five plays to cut the lead.
• Jones connected from 25 yards out to open the third quarter and Jay Finley’s 17-yard run — capped by an RGIII two-point conversion run — gave the Bears a 21-15 lead. After a CU field goal, Finley ran for a 14-yard score for a 10-point lead, which was cut to three with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter on an eight-play, 44-yard TD drive. The Bears took the lead to 31-25 with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a 38-yard field goal by Jones and included a 36-yard Griffin run. Colorado got the ball back with 1:54 left and drove it to the Baylor 19-yard line with a chance to win the game by falling incomplete in the end zone.
• Finley rushed 14 times for 143 yards and two scores, while Griffin finished 22 of 27 passes for 234 yards and a score, while also rushing 15 times for 137 yards. Tevin Reese caught nine balls for 88 yards, with Kendall Wright having seven grabs and 85 yards. Chris Francis had 11 tackles to lead the Bears.
• Colorado was led by a 125-yard rushing game from Rodney Stewart, who added two scores. Tyler Hansen threw for 207 yards and a TD on 21-of-28 passing and Ryan Deehan had seven catches for 70 yards.

SERIES HISTORY

• Colorado leads the all-time series with Baylor 9-7 and holds a 5-4 advantage in games played in Boulder.
• The two teams haven’t met since 2010, when they both played in the Big 12 Conference.
• Baylor has won three of the last four meetings, in 2003, 2006 and 2010, while Colorado posted a 43-23 victory in 2007. The Buffs won five straight in the 1992-2002 series.
• The Bears are looking to win their third straight game in Boulder.

BAYLOR SPEEDS OVER AIR FORCE WITH STRONG SECOND HALF

• Baylor used a strong second half to record a win in the non-conference final against Air Force at McLane Stadium.
• The Bears gave the ball away with three first-half fumbles and took a 6-3 lead into halftime against the Falcons, having the ball on offense for just five minutes in the first half. BU came back to score 17 in the third and eight in the fourth to take a 31-3 victory over AF.
• The Bears switched to QB Sawman Robertson to lighten the starter Dequan Finnwith Robertson posting a career-high 248 yards passing on 18 of 24 passing. Robertson added a rushing TD and split his 18 completions among eight different receivers, with Josh Cameron five grabs for 63 yards and Ashtyn Hawkins catch four balls for 81 yards. TE Michael Trigg had four catches for 49 yards.
• First year RB Bryson Washington made his first career start and carried the ball 12 times for 106 yards and his first career touchdown. Dominic Richardson ran nine times for 48 yards and Richard Reese ran eight times for 47 yards and a TD.
• Defensive, Matt Jones had his sixth double-digit tackle game of his career with 11 stops, with Devyn Bobby equalling his highest ever tackle tally with nine. Jackie Marshall And Brooks Miller any forced fumbles and Corey Gordon Jr. intercepted his first pass of his career.

BAYLOR DEFENSE SETS THE TONE

• Baylor has a shutout in the season opener and a three-point showing against Air Force defensively, while also allowing just nine real points at No. 12 Utah, with the Utes scoring a total of 14 points on a blocked field goal that was returned for a TD and a TD after recovering a fumble at the three-yard line.
• The defense, led by the defensive game-determining head coach Dave Aranda has not allowed a touchdown in two consecutive home games for the first time in his tenure, marking the first time since 2014.
• The last time Baylor scored three points or fewer in two games in the same season was 1989.
• The Bears allowed just 25 yards passing to Air Force, the fewest since 1989.
• The Bears face a tough test against a strong Colorado offense. They lead the nation in passing yards allowed and are No. 12 in scoring and total defense.

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