Year three of the Deion Sanders era hasn’t gone as planned.

Heading into the home finale, Colorado (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) has been relegated to playing spoiler against Arizona State (7-3, 5-2 Big 12). Preseason expectations had this matchup carrying ramifications in the Big 12 title race.

It does — but only for the Sun Devils, who must win out (and get some help from elsewhere in the conference) to have a chance to repeat as Big 12 champions. Coach Prime and the Buffaloes have one final home game on Saturday (6 p.m. ESPN2) before a long offseason begins in December.

Here are five storylines to watch:

JuJu’s second start

The Julian Lewis era is underway. Coach Prime handed the keys to the 18-year-old freshman quarterback last week against West Virginia and Lewis couldn’t have handled it much better, despite the loss. Now, after a bye week, Lewis will be eager to prove he’s learned plenty from his first start. Another big game from Lewis would go a long way toward Sanders’ efforts to rebuild the roster in the offseason.

Containing another mobile QB

The biggest reason CU has the worst run defense in the Big 12 is because of an ability to contain mobile quarterbacks. It began all the way back in the season opener against Georgia Tech’s Haynes King, and it will likely continue this week with former Nebraska QB Jeff Sims now running the Sun Devils offense in place of an injured Sam Leavitt. Sims ran for over 200 yards two weeks ago against Iowa State and will be looking to replicate that performance against the Buffs.

Explosive plays

If there is one area Lewis and the CU offense should target, it’s the ASU secondary. Despite talented players on the back end of the Sun Devils defense, a big reason they rank near the bottom of the conference in passing defense is because of a tendency to allow big plays. The Buffs have a trio of wide receivers — Omarion Miller, Joseph Williams and Sincere Brown — who could make an impact and keep the Buffs in the game.

Tyson’s potential return

The last time Jordyn Tyson played in Boulder, he was being carted off the field with a knee injury that ended a promising freshman season for the Buffs. Now, as a future first-round NFL draft pick, he could haunt his former team. He’s become arguably the top wide receiver in the Big 12 over the last two years. The only catch? Tyson is questionable to play after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury.

An eye toward the future

Despite the disappointing season, there is a core of players for Coach Prime and his staff (whoever’s on it next season) can build around. It goes beyond Lewis at quarterback, too. While finding impact players in the transfer portal will come down to money, the Buffs have a group of players led by star left tackle Jordan Seaton and safety Tawfiq Byard that will likely return next season and that others will want to play with.

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King’s Prediction

Arizona State 31, Colorado 27
The last time these teams met, the Buffs came away with a dramatic win in Tempe in what would be their fourth and final win in 2023. In search of a fourth win now in 2025, CU will be denied as the Sun Devils march down the field for a game-winning touchdown drive right after Julian Lewis leads a go-ahead field goal drive midway through the fourth quarter.