Missouri and Oklahoma State. If they are arent careful, they will lose to Iowa State and Kansas State. IMO they should beat Nebraska and Texas A&M. I will go with a 3 – 5 conference record and a 6 – 6 record overall with remaining wins against Iowa State, Nebraska and Texas A&M. Kansas State is beatable but I dont know if our offense can hang with KSU’s

will be able to establish much of a running game unless they are truly committed to doing so. The Buffs gave up 3.7 yards a carry against Texas and if you cancel out one big 51 yard run, the other 45 carries went for an average of 2.6 yards per. I think Kansas knows its strength is in the passing game and the Buffs weakness is probably in pass defense.

As for a pass rush, this may be your week to get it going. With two of CU’s starting offensive lineman out (G Max Tuioti-Mariner and RT Ryan Miller), the Buffs have had a hard time containing fast and aggressive defensive lines like Florida State and Texas. I don’t think we should put Kansas in the same tier as those two defenses but clearly the Jayhawks should have enough talent to get to the quarterback a couple times against a banged up Buffs team.

Yes, the numbers can fool you. The big stat for Cody Hawkins is that in his 18 career starts as a Buffalo, he has thrown in interception in all but three games. Cody can be turnover prone which puts the defense in a tough situation. Right now Cody is having trouble making plays. Last week, the Texas rush really pressured Hawkins and the Buffs could get nothing going offensively. Cody never really made a play to get this team going. In the FSU game, he was flat out horrible, missing two sure fire touchdown passes and turning the ball over twice. With the tough schedule the Buffs have, the quarterback needs to be exceptional and Cody is not doing it right now.

I was a big supporter of Cody Hawkins coming into the year because I thought he had a knack of making plays with less around him. He is a great human being, a great kid and has a great set of priorities. It pains me to say, though, that he has regressed since last year. I am now a believer that the Buffs need to start working backup QB Matt Ballenger into the rotation to see if he gives this team a jump start. He isn’t making the throws he needs to make or has made in the past. He seems very rushed with this new spread offense and is playing with little fire and confidence. Hawkins was a very fiery player last year and that isn’t the case this year. Of course the injuries on the offensive line don’t help but a division one quarterback needs to make a play once or twice in a game that makes you go, "he has it." Cody isn’t making those plays right now. I expect Kansas to load up the box and make Cody and the banged up offensive line beat them. Kansas should press on the corners against our slower receivers and blitz like it is out of style.

He doesn’t rank in the top 6 or 7 quarterbacks in the league. My ranking goes Bradford, Daniel, Reesing, Harrell, McCoy, Robinson and Freeman. Cody is fighting it out with Ganz and company for 8th or 9th.

I don’t have the faith that Cody could lead this team 80 yards in two minutes. And it isn’t just Cody. The injuries on the offensive line and the lack of playmakers on this team right now make it hard to put the entire blame on Hawkins.

aren’t so special for CU…in fact, they have been a huge disappointment so far this year.

The only strength is the fact that KR Josh Smith, if he is smart in his decision making, can return a kickoff or a punt with the best of them. He has fumbled twice on returns though and has been known to not use his best judgment when field punts or deciding when to come out of the end zone on kickoffs. He is truly the only play maker the Buffs have right now though so I don’t fault him for trying to make plays.

The Buffs biggest weakness right now is PK Aric Goodman who earned the nickname “money” in training camp because of his accuracy but he has been anything but money, making 3 of 8 this year and missing three last week that would have made the game 14 – 9 going into halftime against Texas. In the FSU game, the special teams play cost us 8 points right before half. So in two weeks, the special teams has cost the Buffs 17 points at least. Not Good

Progression has really been hampered but a knee injury in the Eastern Washington game and by an ankle injury last game against Texas. He hasn’t been 100% all year as he came in a little over weight due to having to take summer school to be eligible for CU. We have seen glimpses though and it looks like the sky is the limit.

The thing that will surprise you about Scott is his power and size. He will really pop you when he comes to the line and he has the ability to jump over you as well. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be the player the Big 12 North is talking about in a couple of years. His biggest weakness right now is that he has been a little injury prone and a little impatient when he runs the ball. He needs to let things come to him rather than try to run everyone over. Once he gets healthy, I think you will see what he is all about.

He sort of reminds me Terrell Davis of my Denver Broncos because of the size of his lower body.

Oh, a stat prediction. This comes from a guy that is still really high on Scott. I also think that since our OLine is so young that they will be dominant in 1 to 2 years. I see 1,600 yards 18 touchdowns as his best statistical year.

On defense if they are going to be successful against a good passing team in Kansas, you will need a good pass rush and good coverage. For the first part, I look for LB Brad Jones to apply most of the pressure for CU off the edge. Then for covering Briscoe, I go with Cha’pelle Brown. He has been the defensive MVP so far in my book for the Buffs. Jalil Brown, Gardner McKay and Jimmy Smith will all have there chance at Meier.

On offense, it has to be Cody Hawkins. He holds to keys to the car and all Jayhawk fans know how important a QB is to the team. If he isnt pressured from snap one, I would be surprised. No pressure and Cody will beat you.

I am most concerned about the defensive backfield. Cha’pelle Brown has been good but I am not a fan of the other corner in Gardner McKay. We all know Reesing will probably through 40 times Saturday. Brown will probably draw Briscoe and Gardner will get Meier because he will matchup better with his size. That matchup with Meier scares me a lot. Gardner doesnt like alot of contact. I call him Mr Arm Tackle. I expect Gardner to be the CB Reesing picks on and Kansas should win that battle all day.