Arizona vs. Colorado: Buffs look to redeem themselves after Ka'Deem Carey's record-breaking performance in 2012

366 yards.

No, not talking about a really good day for a quarterback.  We're talking Ka'Deem Carey's Arizona and conference-record 366 rushing yards he piled up against the Colorado Buffaloes last year.

Last November 10th, B.J. Denker got his first career start as the Wildcats QB after Matt Scott suffered a concussion the week before.  What a lot of fans apparently overlooked coming into this year was that Denker did actually complete 12 of his 14 pass attempts for 136 yards that day.

But Ka'Deem stole the show, and that definitely is weighing on new Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre's mind heading into this week's meeting at Folsom Field.

During the weekly Pac-12 coach's teleconference, MacIntyre said that Carey gives him fits when studying the Wildcats on film.  "I get a headache watching him on film."

So how has Colorado changed?  Well, Rich Rodriguez thinks that they'll be tougher defensively this year.

"They're a little more experienced, a little bigger, a little more physical.  They're playing better.  The new staff has done a nice job of creating a new atmosphere it seems like."

Only three players listed as defensive starters on the Colorado depth chart are underclassmen (DT Josh Tupou, MLB Addison Gillam, CB Kenneth Crawley).  Their linebackers are decently-sized, all listed at 220 or 225 pounds, but they struggled against Arizona State two weeks ago.  The Sun Devils were able to put up 276 yards on 58 rushing attempts.

Addison Gillam leads the team far and away in tackles.  The freshman linebacker has accounted for 67 total tackles this year.  Derrick Webb is the second-highest tackler, but trails Gillam by 25 tackles (42 this year).

The Buffs' secondary is definitely taller than the Arizona receivers.  But, Colorado comes into this game ranked 104th out of 123 teams in FBS in passing yards allowed.  Their rushing defense is 78th in the country.

Offense

Last week against Charleston Southern, true freshman Sefo Liufau made his first collegiate start at quarterback, and Michael Adkins, also a true freshman, made his first start at running back.  Liufau came in late in the first quarter of the ASU game, so he basically has two full games under his belt.  So far, he's gone 32-for-46 with 367 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs.

Colorado's leading receiver is Paul Richardson, who has already picked up 782 receiving yards this season, good for ninth-most in the country.  Those numbers give Richardson 130 yards per game (4th in the nation).  By comparison, Arizona's leading receiver, Nate Phillips, has 199 receiving yards this year (the entire team has 976).

Richardson is the cousin of Arizona CB Shaquille Richardson, which makes for an interesting family battle.  Paul is 6-1, 170 while Shaq is 6-1, 188.

By the numbers

Statistical comparisons of the Buffs and Cats

Total Offense

Arizona - 431.2 YPG - 54th

Colorado - 382 YPG - 82nd

Total Defense

Arizona - 369.2 YPG - 41st

Colorado - 443 YPG - 96th

Passing yards

Arizona - 162.7 YPG - 111th

Colorado - 255.7 YPG - 47th

Rushing yards

Arizona - 268.5 YPG - 13th

Colorado - 126.3 YPG - 102nd

Passing defense

Arizona - 199.5 YPG - 21st

Colorado - 268.5 YPG - 104th

Rushing defense

Arizona - 169.7 YPG - 73rd

Colorado - 174.5 YPG - 78th

Points per game

Arizona - 35 PPG - 37th

Colorado - 28 PPG - 77th

Points allowed

Arizona - 19.8 PPG - 21st

Colorado - 36 PPG - 107th

Mike MacIntyre

Colorado's head coach is in his first year at CU after spending the last three years as San Jose State's head man.  Last year, SJSU went 12-1, the first time the Spartans had a ten-win season since 1987.  16 players from last year's team earned All-WAC honors.

MacIntyre's definitely a defensive-minded coach, spending nine total years as a defensive coordinator in college football (Davidson, UT-Martin, Temple and Duke), and another five years as a defensive backs coach in the NFL (Cowboys and Jets).

Series history

The Buffs own the Wildcats all-time.  Colorado has an overall record of 13-2 against Arizona.  The first meeting took place way back in 1931, when CU came to Tucson and defeated UA 27-7.  Other than last year, the Wildcats' only win happened on September 27th, 1986 in Boulder by a score of 24-21.  That was the last time the teams had met before CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011.