Colorado (3-8, 1-7 Big 12) at Kansas State (5-6, 4-4 Big 12)
When/where: 10 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium
TV/Radio: FS1/850 KOA
BetMGM Line: CU +17.5, 51.5 over/under
Weather: 38 degrees, cloudy, chance of snow
Series History: CU leads 45-25-1; Kansas State won last year, 31-28 in Boulder
Three storylines
Wildcats’ bowl hopes: While CU has nothing to play for besides pride as the Buffs will miss the postseason for the second time in Deion Sanders’ three-year tenure, Chris Klieman’s Wildcats have bowl eligibility at stake. A Kansas State win will send the program to its fifth straight bowl game, but a Buffs upset will end the Wildcats’ season and cause them to miss the postseason for just the second time in Klieman’s seven-year tenure. Kansas State is coming off a dramatic defeat to Utah, where the Wildcats blew a late 12-point lead.
JuJu’s redshirt: Sanders announced this week that freshman quarterback Julian Lewis, who made his first collegiate start on Nov. 8 at West Virginia, will preserve his redshirt. That means Lewis, who has already played in four games this year, won’t play on Saturday against Kansas State in order to be a freshman again in 2026. Sanders said it was his decision to redshirt Lewis, who graduated from high school a year early to enroll at CU. On Saturday, fifth-year senior Kaidon Salter, the Week 1 starter, will play instead.
Containing Avery Johnson: The Buffs have been awful against running QBs over the past three years, and Kansas State QB Johnson presents another test in that regard. Johnson has run for 441 yards and eight TDs this season, and CU must contain him in the pocket to have a chance. CU’s run game has been bad all season, as the Buffs are allowing a Big 12-worst 224 yards per game on the ground. The offense hasn’t been much better in that department, ranking second-to-last in the Big 12 with 123.3 yards per game.
Predictions
Kyle Newman, sportswriter: Kansas State 31, CU 23
A lost season comes to an end in crashing fashion for CU, which blows a second-half lead to allow the Wildcats to win the game and make the postseason. QB Avery Johnson runs for over 100 yards, including a big TD run in the fourth quarter, and the lackluster Buffs offense can’t control possession down the stretch of the game, which allows Kansas State to rally. The defeat leaves big questions looming for 2026, the most pressing of which are whether Julian Lewis will stay in Boulder and whether Coach Prime’s heavy transfer-portal approach is a realistic long-term solution for making the Buffs perennially competitive.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Kansas State 35, CU 16
As of Saturday, it will have been 386 days since a Deion Sanders Buffs team won a game away from Folsom Field. It would be hard for CU to end November any worse than they started it, but don’t be shocked if K-State comes out looking to leave a serious bruise from the jump. Buffs QB Kaidon Salter has completed just 53% of his passes with two touchdowns and four picks on the road this season. Salter’s going to have some serious stories to tell about 2025 someday. This one, however, probably won’t have a happy ending.
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