CU Buffs vs. Houston Cougars football: How to watch, storylines and staff predictions

Colorado - - Big at Houston - - Big When where p m Friday TDECU Stadium TV Radio ESPN KOA AM FM BetMGM Line CU over under Weather degrees clear skies Series History CU won the first and only matchup in the Bluebonnet Bowl in - Three storylines Buffs QB situation After the Buffs played three QBs in last week s win against Delaware third-stringer Ryan Staub stood out over prized freshman recruit Julian Lewis and senior transfer Kaidon Salter When Staub came into the championship CU was stagnant After four series at the helm the Buffs were up - Despite all the preseason talk about the competition between Lewis and Salter for the starting job could Staub veritably be the guy He s been getting the first-team reps in practice this week Saturday s a big litmus test Toughest Test Part After Georgia Tech bullied the Buffs in Boulder a couple of weeks ago using the ground challenge to rack up yardage and control the clock expect Houston to enact a similar battle plan Georgia Tech outgained CU yards to in that opener largely because CU couldn t handle the Yellowjackets tenacity in the trenches The Buffs front seven must contain Houston tailback Dean Connors who is averaging yards per carry while CU has to be able to run the rock on offense Fast start The Buffs looked sluggish last week against Delaware before Staub entered the match holding a - lead late in the second quarter Going into that final possession of the first half the Buffs had first-half points combined over the first two weeks and that was with Georgia Tech turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions in the opener Those sorts of starts must stop if CU is going to match last year s - regular season especially on the road Predictions Kyle Newman sportswriter Houston CU Ryan Staub holds his own in his second career college start and first since at Utah in But just like the championship against Georgia Tech the Buffs get pushed around and outgained in the running event and can t make key stops when they need them The Big opener leaves a salty taste in CU s mouth and opens up more questions about this organization s identity Are the Buffs tough enough to hang in the Big this season Sean Keeler sports columnist CU Houston OT Kaidon Salter s running is his greatest strength yet he struggles to throw on the run The college championship looks too fast for freshman Julian Lewis Ryan Staub is Deion Sanders least-talented option on paper who oddly enough presumably runs Shurmurball the best That can t be discounted as Houston while it s got the ball could chew up a lot of clock against this CU defensive front The Buffs need a signal-caller that in Shedeur fashion is cool with scoring swiftly and unflappable while playing from behind in a hostile conditions That sounds more Staub than Salter but would it shock anyone if we saw both Related Articles Buffs notes Brandon Davis-Swain making impression on defensive line Buffs notes Ben Finneseth relishing opportunity as starter Starting or not Ryan Staub brought different strength to Buffs Big power rankings Week Iowa State Utah on top after wild weekend The price of Buffs football glory just got a lot more expensive Editorial Matt Schubert sports editor Houston CU Before Ryan Staub entered last week s championship the Buffs offense had gone from explosive and jaw-dropping to methodical and head-scratching With Staub taking snaps this week CU can in the end use all those weapons on the perimeter again Unfortunately that doesn t solve this organization s biggest obstacle The Buffs inability to consistently stop physical run-first attacks Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams