University of Colorado Athletics

COLORADO BUFFALOES (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)
against BAYLOR BEARS (2-1, 0-0)

BLOCK OF ROCK – It’s been a while since the Colorado Buffaloes won two games in a row – a little over a year, in fact.

But Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders' Buffs can snap a two-game winning streak on Saturday with a win over the Baylor Bears, who visit Folsom Field for a nationally televised homecoming game (Fox) at 6 p.m.

The game marks CU's debut in the Big 12 as the Buffaloes return to the conference they called home before moving to the Pac-12 in 2011.

The Buffs will look to build on the momentum and improvement they showed in their 28-9 win over Colorado State last weekend, while the Bears will look for a similar surge following their 31-3 win over Air Force a week ago.

Colorado's passing game could be the difference in this game. Baylor has seen mostly ground-oriented offenses this year and this game should give CU's receivers a chance to put up some numbers.

The essentials:

START: 6 p.m., Folsom Field (50,183).

Television, RADIO: The game will be televised by Fox with Connor Onion and Mark Helfrich. The radio broadcast will be in the Denver area on KHOW (6:30 a.m.) with the Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Gary Barnett in the locker room. The radio broadcast begins at 4 p.m.

ONLINE: The game can be followed online at CUBuffs.com. Live statistics are also available at CUBuffs.com.

THE COACHES: College football and NFL Hall of Famer Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders is in his second year at Colorado, where he has a 6-9 record. Before coming to CU, he coached at Jackson State for three seasons, where he had a 27-6 record. Dave Aranda is in his fifth season at Baylor, where he has a 25-26 record.

THE SERIES: Colorado leads the standings 9-7, including a 5-4 lead in Boulder.

What it is about: The winner will have a record of 1-0 in Big 12 play.

TEAM LEADER: Colorado's offense is led by quarterback Shedeur Sanderswho threw 999 yards and nine touchdowns. So far Travis Hunter was his favorite receiver (30 receptions, 342 yards, 5 touchdowns), but he spread the wealth well. Other Buffs with double-digit catches are LaJohntay Wester (14-158, 3 touchdowns), Jimmy Horn Jr. (14-246, 1) and Will Sheppard (12-143).

On the floor, Micah Welch made his debut as a running back last week and now leads CU in rushing with nine carries for 69 yards.

Defensive, Cornerback DJ McKinney leads CU with 21 tackles and four pass breakups. Linebacker LaVonta Bentley has 15 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery; Edge Rusher Dayon Hayes leads CU with two sacks; and Hunter has 11 tackles, one interception and two pass breakups.

The Bears have used two quarterbacks this year. Dequan Finn started the first two games before getting injured. Sawyer Robertson started against AFA and passed for 248 yards. The Bears were solid on the ground, led by Dawson Pendergrass (30-144) and Richard Reese (35-140). Michael Trigg is the only Bear with double-digit pass catches (10-109).

On defense, the Bears are led by linebackers Matt Jones (28 tackles) and Keaton Thomas (25 tackles, 1 interception). Three different Bears have at least one sack.

KEY GAME: Colorado's wide receivers against Baylor secondary. The Bears have allowed just 76 yards per game through the air this season, tops in the country. But their opponents have also attempted just 46 passes. The Buffs could reach that number themselves, as it's a good opportunity for Colorado to do even more in the passing game.

Next: The Buffs embark on their longest trip of the year next Saturday when they head to Orlando, Florida to take on UCF.