CU Boulder freshman wide receiver Omarion Miller catches a pass and runs right past a USC defender en route to a big play at Folsom Field Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder football team continues its season this Saturday in Tempe, Arizona against Arizona State University. Both teams come into this matchup amidst their seasons in free fall. The Buffaloes have lost two straight games while the Sun Devils have lost four straight, and both will be desperate for a win this weekend.
With the Pac-12 regular season only starting, Arizona State is a team that Colorado must beat to remain competitive towards the end of the year. Going into week six of the season, the Pac-12 holds six AP top-25 ranked teams, three of which are ranked in the top-10. Colorado has already faced two of these ranked teams, in Oregon and Southern California, and has three more on schedule towards the end of the season.
Put simply, it doesn’t get any easier from here, and Arizona State is one of the few teams remaining on Colorado’s schedule with a worse record than the Buffs. Taking a look at the matchup, there are a few points of interest on both sides to keep an eye on for Saturday.
What to watch for on the Colorado side
To say that the freshman wide receiver Omarion Miller had a breakout performance last week against University of Southern California would be an understatement — it was more of an awakening.
Miller led Colorado receivers against the Trojans with seven receptions and 196 yards, along with one touchdown. Despite that lofty statline, his performance was more impressive on the game tape than on the stat sheet. Miller made one incredible catch after another, including a diving snag for his single touchdown of the day. Buffs fans will be excited to witness his follow-up performance this Saturday.
As head coach Deion Sanders said himself during his Tuesday press conference, “We got a receiver that went for almost 200 yards, we gotta give him the ball. Right?”
To highlight another Colorado freshman that introduced himself to Buffs fans during the USC game, cornerback Cormani McClain looked the part of a 5-star recruit in his first start for Colorado. Deion Sanders made headlines a week ago when he called out McClain to the media.
“Study, prepare, be on time for meetings. Show up to the darn meetings. Understand what we’re doing as a scheme,” he said when asked about how the cornerback can get on the field.
Coach Prime went on to hint that McClain hadn’t been watching film, but it seems that the freshman has since earned his coach’s trust. During his first real playing time at the college level, McClain made multiple impressive plays on the ball and almost had the first interception of his young career, but it was called back due to a penalty. Look for Cormani to get that first pick this Saturday.
What to watch for on the Arizona State side
Arizona State has seen their fair share of turmoil at the quarterback position this season. They’ve had three quarterbacks deal with injury problems in only five games.
Week one starter freshman Jaden Rashada was taken out for a re-aggravated injury from high school in week two. After Rashada, junior Trenton Bourget took over until he went down to a foot injury. After that, Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne stepped in at quarterback until, again, he had to deal with a leg injury.
The Sun Devils are now back on Bourget for Saturday’s game after he got off the injury list last week. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham addressed the injuries in his Monday press conference.
“We’ve been battling some injuries upfront, some injuries now on defense, at quarterback, kind of all over,” Dillingham said at the conference. “[It’s important] being able to try and change and adapt.”
If Arizona State has an x-factor, it would be Cameron Skattebo. The 5-foot-10-inch, 212 pound running back is electric, just watch his 50 yard catch and run touchdown from Arizona State’s game against USC. He’s a rushing threat with 318 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, he’s a receiving threat with 228 receiving yards and he’ll even throw the ball from time to time with 60 passing yards on the season.
Skattebo transferred from Sacramento State this past offseason and so far, no Arizona State opponent, regardless of competition level, has had an answer for him. He’ll be the player to watch for the Sun Devils on Saturday.
While the game should be exciting, expect Colorado to beat Arizona State. Vegas agrees with this assessment as the Buffaloes are favored by 4.5 points.
The game will be played at 4:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, Oct. 7, and will be broadcasted live on Pac-12 Network.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Charlie Hewitt at charlie.hewitt@colorado.edu.
