Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders and Arizona Wildcats football coach Brent Brennan face each other in a season-defining test this Saturday at Folsom Field. For both, the prospect of a November comeback is on the table, as is a rough ending to the season.
CU has the West Virginia Mountaineers, Arizona State Sun Devils, and Kansas State Wildcats left on the docket after UA. The Cats, meanwhile, have the Kansas Jayhawks, Cincinnati Bearcats, Baylor Bears, and also face the ASU Sun Devils.
The Arizona Daily Star’s Justin Spears noted that UA isn’t far off from 6-1, but could see their season spiral to mediocrity with a loss. Meanwhile, Spears believes the Buffs could propel their campaign forward with a win against the Wildcats.
“The Wildcats are two defensive stops and a few plays from having a 6-1 record this season, but Arizona could conceivably right the ship in the next two weeks and reach that postseason mark, which was widely the expectation for the Wildcats after hiring three new coordinators and adding 60-plus newcomers in the season,” Spears wrote.
“However, Colorado could find a spark against the Wildcats and turn its season around with a spirited win. Something's gotta give. And a loss could be the start of a rough final stretch of the regular season for the losing team.”
Brennan is highly confident in Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita having a game more reminiscent of the 2023 matchup between the two teams than the 2024 matchup. He’s also confident that Coach Prime’s program, like the rest of the Big 12 conference, is going to give him a dog fight. Meanwhile, many are questioning if Sanders even wants to stay in Boulder beyond this season.
Kaidon Salter had a down game against the Utah Utes last week in a 53-7 blowout loss for CU, which means he’s due for a bounce-back. So is Arizona after back-to-back one-score losses to the BYU Cougars and Houston Cougars.
As Spears said, something’s gotta give. For Brennan, for Sanders, for Fifita, for Salter, for the Wildcats, for the Buffs.