Colorado football: Five keys to beating the Beavers at home

The stars will be on the field in Boulder on Saturday when the Colorado Buffaloes welcome a host of prospects to Folsom Field against the No. 16 Oregon Beavers.

The series went back and forth with the Beavers holding a 7-6 lead at one game. The two teams went on back-to-back wins, the streak ended with five wins and a tie. So after losing to OSU last season, it’s now the Buffs’ turn to bounce back with a win.
CU will have their work cut out for them Saturday night, but here are five keys to upsetting the Oregon Beavers.

Oregon State’s defense dominated non-conference play, allowing 11 points per game. As you might expect from those numbers, OSU started the season 3-0.
However, more runs were scored against the Beavers during Pac-12 play. Pac-12 teams are averaging 27.2 points against the Beavers, who allowed Cal to score 40 a few weeks ago.
The Buffs offense needs to hit field goals and not field goals when they have the opportunity.

Beavers like to run the ball.
Colorado will have to do whatever it takes to keep the game in the hands of OSU’s DJ Waiagalelei. If Colorado can win and force the Beavers to throw, there’s a good chance there will be a bubble from the QB, who completed just 59.2% of his passes.
In most losses this year, the Beavers have allowed opponents to throw the ball.
Cam Ward passed for more than 400 yards in Washington State’s win over OSU, and Noah Fifita led Arizona to a W with 275 yards through the air.
This could be a big game for Sheder Sanders, but if…

The offensive line must be dominant

Fans and coaches have been calling for Colorado’s offensive line to be strengthened.
If so, CO can relieve your stress.
The coaches need to allow this group to step up and be consistent in the running game while keeping Sheeder Sanders’ jersey clean.
Keep giving the ball back to the defense.

Colorado’s defense was good at keeping the ball free from opposing attacks. The Buffs also scored four goals in the first half against UCLA. It won’t be easy to take the ball away from Oregon State, but CU will need that momentum to steal the win.