Five reasons Colorado football won't bounce back against Arizona

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The Colorado Buffaloes head into their matchup against the Arizona Wildcats with just one thing on their mind: rebound.

A 53-7 loss is never how teams want to come out of the bye week, and for an already struggling Colorado team, all it’s done is attract the national media and rumor mill. However, a win would quiet a bit of the noise around the program and in Boulder. If there ever was a must-win game for a 3-5 football team, it’s this one, but will the Buffs be able to do so? I have my doubts.

Here are five reasons why Colorado will fall to Arizona on Saturday afternoon.

I’ll try running, that’s a good trick

I feel as if I’ve used this stat in every article I’ve written following the Utah loss, but Colorado’s defense gave up 422 rushing yards in that contest alone. That’s so monumentally bad it’s 123 yards short of the total rushing yards that Texas Tech has allowed all season. While Arizona isn’t a great running team —averaging only 140 yards on the ground per game —if the Buffs’ defense doesn’t tighten up, it will get ugly fast.

Oh, a piece of candy

Arizona will no doubt bring an aggressive blitz-heavy approach after rewatching Utah dismantle Colorado’s offense for three quarters. It’ll be key for the Buffs to respond with a quick-passing game, but it won’t be easy against a Wildcat defense that averages two sacks per game, the 66th-best mark in the nation. While we still don’t know who will be at quarterback for the Buffs, if they — or the offensive line —are not ready for the heat, the Wildcats will feast in the backfield.

I was just getting to that

Colorado gave up a home run to the Utes‘ true freshman quarterback, Byrd Ficklin, on the second play of the game, which sucked the life out of the team. That cannot happen again this week because the team they’re playing loves to start fast. Arizona is 1-2 in games where they don’t score the first touchdown and 4-1 when they do. If the Buffs have any hope of rebound, they’ll need to carry the momentum of an early lead.

Pushing buttons and hoping for the best

Head coach Deion Sanders said he knew which buttons to push to get his team back on the right track after the loss to Utah. The Buffs brought in former NFL star Ray Lewis and are looking to move their best offensive lineman, Jordan Seaton, to other positions on the line. These are boom-or-bust changes that Sanders is making, and we won’t know if they clicked with the team until Saturday night is over.

Making your own luck

Another backbreaking interception dashed any hope of a Colorado win last week, and so I’m once again here to report that the Buffs cannot withstand any turnovers. The offense has to play cleaner football, which will be a challenge against an opponent that averages nearly two turnovers per game. With tight games like this, Colorado has to play near-perfect; otherwise, the Wildcats will pounce on a mistake and send the Buffs spiraling.

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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Colorado football vs. Arizona: Reasons the Buffaloes will lose

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