Deion Sanders will learn about his team this weekend.

Despite suffering the biggest loss of the Coach Prime era last week in Utah, Colorado still has a lot to play for as we enter the final month of the regular season. Starting with Arizona at Folsom Field Saturday night (5 p.m. FS1), the Buffaloes need to win three of their final four games to become bowl eligible for the second straight season — something that hasn’t happened in 20 years.

With a road trip to West Virginia next week against a Mountaineers team that is winless in the Big 12 and with an Arizona State team now without star quarterback Sam Leavitt for the rest of the season, just about every game left on the schedule is winnable for Sanders’ team. That includes this week against an Arizona team that the Buffs dominated a year ago in Tucson.

Here are five storylines to watch with the Wildcats in town for homecoming weekend in Boulder:  

The CU offensive line

For the first time all season, the Buffs will be without a key offensive lineman as left guard Xavier Hill has been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Behind left tackle Jordan Seaton, Hill has arguably been CU’s second-most consistent player offensively as his veteran presence has been a big boost to a much-improved offensive line as a whole. How the Buffs adjust without Hill will be interesting to watch, especially early in the game, as the CU offense looks to make up for last week’s disastrous showing in Salt Lake City.

Arizona’s game plan vs. Buffs defense

After being dominated on both lines of scrimmage last week against the Utes, it would seem like the game plan for attacking the Buffs would be pretty simple. But Arizona isn’t a team built to run for over 400 yards like Utah did a week ago. Veteran quarterback Noah Fifita once again looks like the player he was during his breakout 2023 season as he’s found some confidence in year two in a new offensive system. He’s been one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 this season, but the Wildcats could benefit from trying to establish the ground game through running back Ismail Mahdi.

Kaidon Salter and limiting turnovers

Salter couldn’t have played much worse last week. He’s struggled in each of his road starts this season, but going for 9-for-22 passing for just 37 yards with an interception, in addition to his 14 carries for -4 yards on the ground, isn’t going to cut it against any team in this conference. Turnovers have been his biggest Achilles heel in Big 12 play, and against an Arizona defense that is second in the conference in interceptions, Salter’s ability to keep the ball out of harm’s way will likely determine how successful his day is.

Memories of last year in Tucson

CU doesn’t have to look too far back in history for a formula for victory against Arizona. The Buffs put together one of their most impressive wins of 2024 last year in Tucson in a dismantling of the Wildcats. Both teams are very different from a year ago, but the Buffs have faced Fifita twice now, and they sacked him seven times the last time they faced him. A similar effort would be huge for the CU defense.

The fourth quarter

The Buffs simply don’t get blown out at home in the Deion Sanders era. Regardless of who the opponent is, CU has been able to come away with a win or, at the very least, keep things close against quality opponents. As slight underdogs this week, the Buffs will be eager to prove last week’s embarrassing loss is in the rearview mirror and that they can find a way to win in crunch time in front of the Folsom Field faithful this week. 

King’s Prediction

Arizona 34, Colorado 27
The Buffs have not lost by more than a touchdown at home in the Coach Prime era. But there have been a few heartbreaking losses at Folsom Field since the start of 2023, however. One of them was two years against Arizona as the Wildcats won on a last-second field goal. It won’t be at the buzzer, but a Noah Fifita touchdown pass in the final few minutes puts Arizona over the top and knocks off a CU team that puts up a much better fight than a week ago.