First look: Colorado Buffaloes

No. 25 UCLA Bruins (5-2, 2-2) at Colorado Buffaloes (2-5, 0-4)
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m. PT, Folsom Field (Boulder, Colo.)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Kevin Calabro, Yogi Roth, Lewis Johnson)
Radio: AM 570 (Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens, Wayne Cook)

Coach: Mike MacIntyre oversaw an impressive reconstruction in his three years at San Jose State, going from 1-11 in 2010 to 10-2 in 2012. That earned him a shot at an even more difficult task: rebuilding a Colorado program that had averaged just 3.8 wins in the last six years.

That remains an uphill battle. MacIntyre took the Buffs to four wins in his debut season, but their lone conference victory came against a Cal team that finished 1-11. They are still searching for their second. That very well might not come until 2015: four of Colorado’s last five games are against top-25 opponents, with the lone exception being a five-win Washington squad.

Key players:

QB Sefo Liufau, So., 6-4, 230 — 211/323, 2,030 yards, 21 TD, 9 INT
– He’s improved almost across the board from his freshman season and is on pace to set a new Colorado single-season record in passing yards, but has already topped his interception total from last season. His nine picks rank last in the Pac-12.

WR Nelson Spruce, Jr., 5-11, 185 — 71 catches, 801 yards, 11 TD
– Liufau has been force-feeding his favorite target all season long. Spruce leads the nation with just over 10 catches per game, and has already tied Colorado’s single-season record for touchdown receptions.

LB Addison Gillam, So., 6-3, 255 — 57 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups
– His numbers aren’t as gaudy as they were last season, when he ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with Has already suffered two concussions this fall.

DB Tedric Thompson, So., 6-0, 200 — 53 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble
– The Buffs are 10th in the conference with just three interceptions, and they can thank Thompson that they’re not last.

Scouting report: Colorado has only allowed 12 sacks this season, despite leading the conference with 616 offensive plays — the fourth-most in the FBS. … The Buffaloes only rank 11th in the Pac-12 with 5.3 offensive yards per play, including 4.1 per carry. … Colorado has arguably the conference’s weakest run defense, allowing 5.2 yards per carry. The have given up 12 rushing touchdowns — 10th in the Pac-12 — despite having only faced two top-50 rushing offenses. … Kicker Will Oliver is having a down year after being named All-Pac-12 honorable mention and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. The senior is 5-of-9 on field goal attempts, with two misses from within 40 yards.

Line: UCLA favored by 13.5 points.