For the first time in 14 years, Big 12 football returns to Boulder this Saturday night.

After going 2-1 in nonconference play with two straight road games, Deion Sanders and Colorado return to Folsom Field this weekend for a pivotal conference opener against a fellow 2-1 team in Baylor.

While the Bears are technically 0-0 in Big 12 play, they did lose to Utah in Salt Lake City in Week 2 in a game that was scheduled before the Utes joined the conference and was still considered a nonconference game.

The Bears are one of the familiar programs that remain from the last time the Buffaloes were in the conference and the two teams met last in 2010 when Baylor won by a final of 31-25. CU does lead the all-time series, 9-7, and won five straight matchups against Baylor from 1992 to 2002.

But all that will be thrown out the window this Saturday when coach Sanders’ team takes on Dave Aranda’s Bears and both coaches will be eager to kick off Big 12 play with a win. Here’s what to expect from the team from Waco:

Last time out

It’s not usually encouraging when you glance at the schedule and see your next opponent put a beat down on Air Force the previous week.

That’s what the Bears did at McLane Stadium on Saturday night. But this might not be the same Falcons team that we’ve seen rack up 10-win seasons at the Academy in recent memory. Troy Calhoun might finally be starting to realize how difficult it is for the service academies in this era of college athletics. And that showed against a Baylor team that was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 in the preseason.

Give the Bears credit, though. They still racked up close to 500 yards and used a big third quarter to pull away from Air Force for a 31-3 win that might look a little better on the scoreboard than it did on the field as the Falcons failed to capitalize on their first half scoring opportunities.

On offense

Baylor has already been forced to make a quarterback change in the first month of the season due to injury. Toledo transfer Dequan Finn won the starting job in the preseason, but missed last week’s game with an injury and is still considered day-to-day, per Aranda.

Sawyer Robertson played well against Air Force in his first start of the season, throwing for 248 yards and completing 75% of his attempts to eight different receivers.

Even if Finn is cleared to play this week, there’s still a good chance Robertson gets the nod against the Buffs and that decision likely won’t be made until later in the week.

Whoever starts at quarterback will likely spend a good deal of the game handing the ball to the Bears’ stable of talented running backs. They have three players who have over 100 yards on the ground through three games, including Bryson Washington, who didn’t get a single carry in the first two weeks, but had 12 rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown against Air Force.

Talented sophomore Dawson Pendergrass had over 60 yards in each of the team’s first two games, but had just four carries last week after coughing a fumble in the first quarter.

On defense

The defensive side of the ball is looking to be a real strength for Baylor this season.

Aranda, an experienced defensive play caller who won a national championship as the defensive coordinator at LSU before getting to Baylor, has taken control of the defensive unit this season for the first time with the Bears.

The result through the first three weeks is just 29 points allowed — including just three touchdowns, all against Utah, with one coming off a blocked field goal and another on a drive that started on the team’s 3-yard line.

The Bears are currently first in the Big 12 in points allowed, yards allowed per game and passing defense, although that will be tested against Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders and his stable of speedy wide receivers.

The Baylor Bears file

Record: 2-1

Head coach: Dave Aranda (5th season)

Offensive coordinator: Jake Spavital (1st season)

Defensive coordinator: Matt Powledge (2nd season)

Names to know: QB Sawyer Robertson, RB Dawson Pendergrass, WR Josh Cameron, TE Michael Trigg, LB Matt Jones, LB Keaton Thomas, DL Jackie Marshall