Colorado looks to stop five-game skid against Kansas State
By: Shane Holcombe & Jake Chau
On a five-game losing streak, the Colorado Buffaloes look to turn the tide when they host the Kansas State Wildcats this weekend.
Meet the opponent
K-State is led by senior Avery Johnson, who has passed for over 1,200 yards and 10 passing touchdowns. He also threatens with his legs, adding over 450 yards on the ground and with three rushing touchdowns. He has been ruled out with an upper-body injury, giving the reins to fifth-year senior Jacob Knuth.
Knuth started in the Wildcats' last week's match against Arizona State. He went 26 for 41, throwing for 194 yards and one passing and rushing touchdown in the loss.
Knuth is listed as doubtful, which brings up junior quarterback Blake Barnett. A Colorado native, Barnett saw action in Kansas State’s 71-3 win over Nicholls, going 4 for 5 with 41 passing yards.
“It doesn't matter who starts,” linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron said ahead of the game. “It's going to be the same game plan.”
Barnett saw time only as a running quarterback, appearing in four games, including against the Buffaloes in Manhattan, Kansas, last year. He had four attempts, rushing for 13 total yards.
K-State will lean on their running back tandem of Rodney Fields Jr. and Joe Jackson. Together, they’ve combined for 780 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, leading the Wildcats as the Big 12's fourth-best rushing offense.
The Wildcats have a better-than-average defense in the Big 12, allowing 21 points per game and holding opponents to under 150 passing yards per game — the best mark in the conference.
How Colorado wins
Shane: The running back room exploits the Wildcats’ poor run defense.
Kansas State is giving up 158 rushing yards a game, the third-worst mark in the Big 12. If JaQuail Smith and Richard Young can step up while Micah Welch is out, Colorado has a chance. However, the Buffs rushed for only 56 yards last week, and haven’t been spectacular.
“We try to get a rhythm to see who's who,” head coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday when asked about the running back rotation. “You're going to see Richard [Young] a lot more this week. I promise you that.”
Jake: Capitalize on a beat-up K-State team.
With its top two quarterbacks out, the Wildcats will have to get creative with an unproven and unpredictable talent. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Barnett can ball out, learning behind Johnson and Knuth.
Still, Colorado knows Kansas State is running a depleted offense, which could give it an edge.
How Colorado loses
Jake: Penalties.
Colorado has continued to struggle with discipline, ranking fourth in the nation in penalty yards per game. With a third-string quarterback at the helm, giving the Wildcats additional yards won’t be a recipe for success.
Shane: The moment gets to Colorado.
As the losses have piled up, more and more heat is on Coach Prime, and this game has been touted as a must-win. Last week against Oklahoma State, the Buffs couldn’t recover from an early second-half fumble by quarterback Isaac Wilson, and giving up 37 unanswered points was alarming.
Responding to adversity is my biggest question mark, and it’s hard to believe rumors that their coach’s hot seat doesn’t affect the Buffaloes. The fight shown in the comeback win against Georgia Tech feels like it was forever ago.
X factor
Shane: The Folsom Field crowd.
This weekend will be the true barometer of how loyal Colorado fans still are to a team that hasn’t given them much to cheer for. Even against Utah, when CU came back to take the lead, the stadium was cleared out by the third quarter. And on Halloween weekend, when fans and students have plenty of other places to be, a raucous environment can make a difference.
I can’t recall a single “stadium pulse” moment from the Folsom crowd in 2026, but when the Buffs are frustrating to watch, you can’t blame the fans for not caring.
Jake: The defense.
Limiting the run has been a strength for Colorado most of the season, but K-State's run-first offense will test it. After allowing 57 points and nearly 600 yards to Oklahoma State last week, the Buffaloes still have a tall task against Fields and Jackson.
Bold prediction
Jake: Despite having the best passing defense in the Big 12, Kansas State has lost every game in which it has given up more than 200 passing yards, including against any opponent in the top 35 in the nation in passing yards per game.
Among them is Arizona State, the nation’s 32nd-best passing offense, which the Wildcats beat. Kansas State also lost to Houston’s 33rd-best passing offense. Now they face Colorado’s 34th-best passing offense. Averaging over 260 passing yards a game, the Buffaloes should still be in good shape to beat the Wildcats.
My bold prediction is that Colorado will beat the Wildcats with 250 passing yards from Wilson.
Shane: I was far off it last week, predicting the Buffs would be out-penalized by the Cowboys. So I’m pivoting back to the running backs for CU. The running backs combine for two or more rushing touchdowns for the first time this season. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion takes some pressure off Wilson in the red zone because of turnover concerns, and that opens the door for the rushing attack.
Final score prediction
Shane: Regardless of that bold prediction, I’m picking Kansas State to come on the road and win 24-21, and the Buffaloes match a six-game losing streak they had in Sanders’ first year. Even with the Wildcats’ Johnson out, Colorado can’t help itself in situational football and keeps shooting itself in the foot. I don’t expect that to change this weekend if it's a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
Jake: Colorado rides a good enough defensive performance, combined with Wilson’s ability to move the football and push the pace, to a 24-17 win.
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