No. 9 Stanford (7-1, 6-0 Pac-12) at Colorado (4-5, 1-4)
Do-Hyoung Park: Stanford 31, Colorado 17
I feel like this is going to be a much tougher matchup than most people are making it out to be. This Colorado team has been the doormat of the conference in the recent past, sure, but this season, the Buffs have played Oregon, Arizona and UCLA close and seem to be on the cusp of pulling off a big upset. Washington State showed the world how to stop Christian McCaffrey — even with a porous rush defense — last week, and if Mike MacIntyre’s squad can get some timely stops on defense, this game could get interesting. Sefo Liufau is a veteran quarterback, he has a stud receiver in Nelson Spruce and that offense somehow ran 114 plays last week against UCLA. They know what they’re doing on that side of the ball. I also think Stanford will be sluggish with the 10 a.m. start time, which will keep this game closer than it should be for a long time. I do think Stanford wins, but the Cardinal won’t cover the 16-point spread.
Vihan Lakshman: Colorado 34, Stanford 28
The Buffs are hungry for that marquee win to signal their arrival in the Pac-12, and the opportunity doesn’t get much juicier than welcoming the conference leader into their house. There’s “up-tempo” and then there’s whatever you call that 114-play monstrosity of an offensive performance Colorado delivered against UCLA. We know that Colorado will push the pace of play, challenging a thin Stanford defensive line and almost inevitably putting up points in the process. Meanwhile, MacIntyre’s defense is one of the most opportunistic units in the conference, averaging 1.8 takeaways per game. If the Cardinal do not take care of the ball — a very realistic scenario in a hostile road environment like Folsom Field — the Buffaloes will punish them. As Do mentioned above, the blueprint to stopping Stanford’s offense is out there. If the Colorado defense can channel its inner Wazzu and get off the field consistently, Liufau, Spruce and the offense will wear Stanford down. In an enthralling, back-and-forth battle, the Buffs pull this one out on a late touchdown and deliver this year’s inexplicable road loss to Stanford.
Andrew Mather: Stanford 42, Colorado 24
When I took my first serious look at Stanford’s schedule last May, I identified this game as a potential pitfall for the Cardinal. The Buffaloes have considerably more talent than their record shows, and I thought it was conceivable that the minds of some Stanford players might be beginning to wander toward the upcoming big-ticket matchups against Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame. After the team barely managed to escape Washington State, however, I think the Cardinal will be a little more wary of the surprises that under-the-radar teams can deliver when they play at home. For this reason, I expect to see a little more of David Shaw’s playbook early this Saturday as Stanford seeks to avoid a repeat of the Wazzu drama. I see Kevin Hogan easily surpassing 250 passing yards as the Cardinal offense exploits a Colorado defense focused on Christian McCaffrey, and I think Stanford holds the Buffs’ backfield to under 100 yards rushing. Barry Sanders emerges from the dead for a couple of big runs, Isaiah Brandt-Sims records his first career catch, and Stanford keeps its win streak rolling.
Michael Peterson: Stanford 45, Colorado 17
In 2012, the Stepfan Taylor goal-line push didn’t quite make it into the end zone in overtime at Notre Dame. Then in 2013, Stanford couldn’t execute like it needed to in the fourth quarter to beat USC or Utah. Over the course of the 2014 season, Stanford lost all three games that were decided by six points or fewer. That’s why last week — when Erik Powell’s kick sailed wide right as time expired to preserve the two-point win — signaled something special, no matter how close Stanford truly came to defeat. The Cardinal haven’t pulled out those kind of victories in the past few years. Last week, they did. This team and this season could be special. I fully expect the Wazzu wake-up call to push Stanford to play its absolute best this week. Christian McCaffrey — freed up by Kevin Hogan re-establishing the passing threat — puts on a show in his homecoming, racking up 300 all-purpose yards, and Stanford plays a complete game on both sides of the ball.