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Friday Fast Facts – Iowa State Week
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Leading off …
— Your “T.I.P.S” for Colorado v. No. 22 Iowa State, my weekly written preview, along with my predictions for CU’s second chance to pick up a home win against a ranked team this fall, can be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— Sell Out? … With a listed capacity of 51,400, CU has had three sellouts this season: Georgia Tech (52,868); Wyoming (53,422); and BYU (52,265), only falling short for the Delaware game (50,341). As of Thursday afternoon, CU had less than 1,000 tickets left to claim a sell out against Iowa State;
— Black Out … After facing a Black Out game on the road against TCU last weekend, the Buffs return to Folsom … for a Black Out game of their own. It won’t be as effective as a Black Out game at night, and CU hasn’t made a big deal about the Black Out on social media, but, officially, CU fans are still being asked to wear black for the game against the Cyclones;
— Watch the scoreboard … In the Coach Prime era, when the Buffs score over 30 points in a game, CU is 13-3 (with a ten-game winning streak, including wins this September over Delaware and Wyoming). When the Buffs score less than 30 points in a game, however, CU is 2-13;
— The ESPN Power Index … Last weekend, CU was a 13.5-point underdog to TCU, with the ESPN Power Index giving TCU a 79.2% chance at victory. This weekend, Iowa State opened as a 4.5-point favorite (down to 2.5-points), with the ESPN Power Index giving the Cyclones a 63.1% chance at winning.
— Broadcast info … The 1:30 p.m., MT, game will be telecast nationally by ESPN, with Mike Monaco on the play-by-play, Louis Riddick on color, and Kris Budden on the sidelines … 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst. The ESPN lead-in game, at 10:00 a.m., MT, features the Pitt Panthers visiting the 25th-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
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Player Notes …
— Will Saturday be Dallan’s Day? … CU running backs Simeon Price and DeKalon are still listed as being “Out” on the CU Availability chart. WR/RB Dre’lon Miller, who has been successful playing running back and running the wildcat at quarterback, is listed “Doubtful” for the Iowa State game.
Next man up? Dallan Hayden had two runs of 20+ yards in his nine-carry, 61-yard, performance at TCU. Prior to Saturday, he had just two carries for 10 yards on the season;
— Omarion Miller … CU had four wide receivers taken in April in the NFL Draft. This season, Buff fans have been looking to Omarion Miller as CU’s next man up. After showing flashes of brilliance in 2023 and ’24, Omarion Miller is proving to be a consistent threat in 2025. He caught six passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns at TCU; entering the game, he had just three career touchdowns (one each season). For the first half of the 2025 season, Miller has 17 receptions for 289 yards and three touchdowns;
— Offensive Line gaining traction … The Buffs have eclipsed 100 rushing yards in five of six games this season—just one fewer than the total from the previous 25 games. CU also has 12 runs of 20+ yards this year, surpassing the combined total from the previous two seasons (11 total: six in 2024 and five in 2023).
One of the reasons the line play has improved is that four of the five positions have had the same starters for every game;
- Left tackle: Jordan Seaton – consistently ranked by PFF as one of the best offensive linemen in the nation;
- Left guard: Xavier Hill
- Center: Zarian McGill
- Right guard: Zylon Crisler
- Right tackle … Larry Johnson has started five of six games so far this season.
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— Colorado and Iowa State …
— Natty Buddies? Not so much … After two weeks of playing the only two other current Big 12 members to win a national championships (BYU and TCU), the Buffs take on a team which hasn’t won so much as a conference championship in over a century. The last time the Iowa State football team won a conference championship was in 1912, when they shared the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (which later morphed into the Big Seven, then the Big Eight, then the Big 12). This 1912 title, along with their 1911 conference title, marks the only two conference football championships in the school’s history;
— Colorado v. Iowa State … CU has played Iowa State 65 times, with a 49-15-1 all-time record. There are only four teams the Buffs have played more often: Colorado State (93 games); Nebraska (73); Kansas (71); and Kansas State (67). Of those five teams, though, CU’s winning percentage is best against Iowa State (.762), just ahead of CU’s winning percentage against Colorado State (69-22-2, .752);
— Colorado v. Iowa State, historically … There are 12 different categories which Winsipedia tracks national rankings, from all-time wins to NFL Draft picks to consensus All-Americans … and CU leads Iowa State in all 12. More often than not, the one category always trails is in bowl game record. Colorado is 12-19 (.387) all-time in bowl games (90th nationally). Iowa State, though, is even worse (6-13, .316, 101st).
Iowa State had its first double-digit win season in school history last year, but still has a ways to go to get to .500 all-time. The Cyclones are 100 games under .500, at 582-682-46 (116th nationally). (CU is 734-552-36, .569, 45th).
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— The last time … November 13, 2010 … Boulder … Colorado 34, Iowa State 14
In the first game of the post-Dan Hawkins era at the University of Colorado, the Buffs played their most complete game of the 2010 season, defeating Iowa State, 34-14. Long-time assistant coach Brian Cabral won his first game as interim coach, as the Buffs held the Cyclones to just 229 yards of total offense.
… Continue reading Game Story here …
… My Essay for the game, “First Victory of 2011?“, can be found here …
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— Getting to Know Iowa State … Notes and Numbers …
– Matt Campbell … It may come as a surprise, but Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is one of the longest-tenured – and most successful – Big 12 coaches.
Campbell became ISU’s winningest football coach late last fall (current record: 69-52) … Campbell is tied as the Big 12 Conference’s third-longest active tenured coach and has matched Mike Leach (Texas Tech) and Gary Pinkel (Missouri) for fifth-most wins (47) in league history.
— Honored Cyclones … ISU has taken home seven Big 12 Player of the Week honors through its first six games this
season, while also earning Defensive Line of the Week honors twice (CU has yet to have a player honored this season);
– Not a good omen … Saturday’s game will mark CU’s first game against Iowa State as a returning member of the Big 12. ISU is 6-0 in its first regular season games against Big 12 newcomers that joined the league in 2023 and 2024, defeating Arizona, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and Utah in the initial meetings.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Four Big 12 teams ranked … The Big 12 Conference kept the same four teams in the AP poll this week … the first time in weeks that the Big 12 hasn’t had a team moving in or moving out.
- Texas Tech with a 35-11 win over Houston, moved into the Top Ten, coming in at No. 9. BYU, with a 38-24 win over West Virginia, moved up five spots to No. 18. Arizona State was idle, but still moved up four spots to No. 21, while Iowa State, which lost 38-30 at Cincinnati, fell eight spots to No. 22;
- Cincinnati (No. 26), Utah (No. 29), and TCU (No. 34) are the three Big 12 teams in the “others receiving votes” category.
— Big 12 This-and-That …
- Big 12 Conference defenses lead the nation with 77 interceptions, seven more than any other league (CU has only contributed two to the total);
- Only five teams in FBS have at least five different players with 13 or more receptions and 150+ receiving yards. Three of those five teams are Baylor, Iowa State and Texas Tech;
- Former Buff wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has caught a touchdown in all five games this year, the longest streak by an Arizona State player to begin a season since Keith Poole in 1996 (six). The last Big 12 player with a longer such streak was Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb in 2019 (six).
— Big 12 lines …
From DraftKings …
Big 12 lines …
Saturday, October 11th
- UCF at Cincinnati … 10:00 a.m., MT, FS1 … Cincinnati is a 10.5-point home favorite …
- Houston at Oklahoma State … 10:00 a.m., MT, TNT … Oklahoma State is a 14.5-point home underdog …
- No. 22 Iowa State at Colorado … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN … Colorado is a 2.5-point home underdog … down from 4.5-points on Sunday;
- TCU at Kansas State … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox … Kansas State is a 1.5-point home underdog …
- Kansas at No. 9 Texas Tech … 5:30 p.m., Fox … Texas Tech is a 14.5-point home favorite …
- No. 18 BYU at Arizona … 6:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2 … Arizona is a 2.5-point home underdog …
- No. 21 Arizona State at Utah … 8:15 p.m., MT, ESPN … Utah is a 5.5-point home favorite …
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