⚡ CFB Dashboard

Colorado's ability to make mid-season adjustments will become known on Saturday when the Buffs travel to Baylor for their Big 12 opener. While most of the Buffs' shortcomings thus far appear correctable, every aspect of head coach Deion Sanders' team is currently under the microscope after last weekend's disaster at Northwestern. Coach Prime dismissed three players from his program earlier this week, and if poor play continues in certain areas, further changes would be expected. Below are a few things Colorado must correct if it wants to beat Baylor in Week 4: Limit the penalties After a relatively clean game penalty-wise against Georgia Tech, Colorado drew far too many flags against Weber State and Northwestern, with many coming at inopportune times. Third-down and dead-ball penalties, in particular, can't continue. "Pressure is bringing out certain things that shouldn't be in you, but it's coming out," Sanders said. "It shouldn't because we are disciplined in every other area... Even the nonsense things like (being) late to breakfast or missing this or late to this or missing that or not weighing in, we've cut that off (by) like 80%. So I still don't understand some of those things, but we are really on that right now. They can tell you we are on everything right now with a microscope. We're challenging them to be who they say they want to be."  Ball security Two fumbles, two interceptions and three failed fourth-down conversions zapped Colorado's momentum against Northwestern. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion's unit has proven that it can push the ball downfield, but careless mistakes limited the Buffs to just 21 points in their first two games against Power Four opponents. "The big differences were turnovers and time of possession," Sanders said after the Northwestern loss. "They had the ball 36 minutes to 23. That's tough unless we get explosions, as we did a week ago." Get JuJu in rhythm Building quarterback Julian Lewis' confidence should always be a priority, but perhaps even more so this weekend. After throwing his first two career interceptions against Northwestern, Lewis would benefit from a few easy completions early to get the passing game going.  "It all starts with me," Lewis said. "I'm the quarterback back there. It's my job to move the ball and score. I got a lot to build on this week, and I thank God for another week. We can obviously move the ball. I think we've seen that, but it's all about finishing. If we can't score points, it doesn't matter." Better pre-snap adjustments defensively As a surprise to many, Colorado's secondary has struggled through three games. Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly exposed the Buffs last weekend by operating a step ahead before the snap, and the Buffs will soon face another offense capable of creating explosive plays. Against Baylor and beyond, improved communication and quicker pre-snap adjustments will be key to Colorado turning a corner defensively. "A lot of great effort, but we need more finish and execution," safeties coach Vonn Bell said. "Guys are making plays on the ball, tackling well, but it's also football awareness and situational football that we've got to master throughout the down and distance, throughout the sudden change, throughout the logo area, where shots occur, throughout any play call that has a double call. If it's motion occurring, we gotta be a step ahead. We just gotta play faster in our processing ability. I'm glad where they're at right now, but I want to challenge them and keep encouraging them to push forward and want more and do more."