Sun Devil Stadium is a hard place to win unless you are playing for Arizona State or playing in a bowl game against another team from outside of Tempe.
The only time that Colorado has won there was in the Fiesta Bowl following 1994 season. In Bill McCartney's last game, the Buffs put a serious whipping on Lou Holtz's Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
Colorado has never beaten Arizona State in Tempe, and hasn't had much luck against them anywhere overall. Last year's victory in Boulder was the first ever for the Buffs against the Sun Devils. Overall, Colorado is 1-7 against ASU.
The past doesn't bode well for Colorado, so the job of Mike MacIntyre and his staff is to get their team to play for the future and forget the past. The Buffaloes have won five games this year, and need a win in the last three weeks to become bowl eligible.
With Pac-12 South leader (and #17) USC coming to Boulder next week, the Buffaloes face a tough road to bowl-ville unless they can pull an upset of 4-4 Arizona State.
The Sun Devils have been up and down all year. They got spanked at home last week by USC, but beat #5 Washington (at home) and went on the road to defeat Utah in the two weeks prior. Early in the season, the Devils also lost to San Diego State and Texas Tech. It's been a tough season to watch for ASU fans.
Likewise, things have been tough in Boulder. After last year's 10 win season, fans of Colorado expected them to once again vie for the Pac-12 South title. Coaches added to the expectations when they proclaimed Colorado would have one of the best offenses in the country.
Then came the season. The Buffs went 3-0 in non-conference games but looked wholly uninspired and far from explosive on offense. After losing their first three Pac-12 games, the Buffs squeaked by Oregon State, a team which had yet to be within 28 points of an FBS team. Then came the 28-0 debacle loss to Washington State to drop the Buffs to 4-4.
The grumblings from the Peanut Gallery at Folsom Field got louder and louder during the season, and became an outright roar during the Washington State loss. The quarterback was benched, and after neither backup QB could do anything either, calls were made for the play-caller (and Co-offensive coordinator) Brian Lindgren to be fired or demoted.
Finally, in week 9, the Buffs finally showed some fire. They were explosive offensively, and cruised to a big win over California. Most fans were willing to recognize the effort and congratulate the team on a well played game. It was good to see the team having fun again.
Throughout this week, however, the facts began to sink in about the Buffs' two conference wins. They were against the two worst teams in the league this year. The Buffs have lost to the middle of the road teams in the Pac-12, and been smoked by the upper level teams.
Most fans were happy with last week's win, but are unconvinced that it will lead to more wins this year and a bowl game. But they are waiting with bated breath to see how this game goes.
If the Buffs win, they will be bowl eligible and they will have a fighting chance to finish the season 8-4 and on a four game winning streak entering bowl season.
If they lose, particularly if they lose badly (which is typical in games in Tempe against ASU), the Buffs could very well finish season 5-7 and on the outside looking in come bowl time. It's an all too familiar place to be with a decade between last year's bowl team and the last time they went bowling.
Buff fans are hoping against hope, but the emotional content from fans seems to be missing. They've had their hearts already broken this year. They are waiting for one more game before they give the Buffs their complete support.
They want their Buffs to win, and hope it comes true. The question remains whether the Buffaloes themselves are going to lay it all on the line and do whatever is necessary to win? Or will they face adversity and a tough road game and cash in their chips? Will the coaches rise to the occasion? Or will they be outcoached once again and lay the fault at the feet of their players?
Let's see who shows up. It's less than two hours until we find out.
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