Colorado’s first Big 12 Conference game since November 2010 is on the slate this week, and nationally ranked Colorado Mines and Western Colorado enter Saturday’s play as The Centennial State’s only unbeaten schools.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule features four games with Colorado schools participating, highlighted by Colorado State-Pueblo hosting Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado entering Adams State.

Western Colorado (15th) and CSU Pueblo (22nd) are ranked in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll along with No. 4 Colorado Mines.  Listed ahead of Mines are Harding of Arkansas, Grand Valley State of Michigan, and Valdosta State of Georgia.

When Baylor enters Folsom Field in Boulder Saturday for the nationally-televised game on FOX, Colorado will be playing its first Big 12 Conference game since November 26, 2010, when the Buffs dropped a 45-17 decision at Nebraska.  It was the end of the 15th season of the Big 12 as CU departed for the Pac-12 and Nebraska headed to the Big Ten.

The Centennial State has two of the nation’s top “toss-catch” combinations in college football this season: CSU Pueblo’s Devin Larsen and Reggie Retzlaff and CU’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.

• Larsen is first in passing yards (1,120) and second in TD passes (11).
• Retzlaff is first in NCAA Division II in receptions (25) and receiving yards (552) and tied second in TD receptions (5).
• Sanders is fourth in passing yards (999) and tied for fourth in TD passes (9).
• Hunter is second in the FBS in receptions (30), seventh in receiving yards (342), and tied for second in TD receptions (5)

Click here for The Centennial State’s top collegiate grid performers.  Here is Jake Levin’s previews for this week’s game.

• Colorado Mines at Chadron State#, 12 p.m. (RMAC Net), CSM trails 22-23 – Colorado Mines is looking to make it 11 straight wins against Chadron State and for a chance to tie the series. In their last game on September 5, Chadron State beat Jamestown 17-10. Chadron State leads the series 23-22. Colorado Mines defeated Washburn 31-28 on September 14. Playing near his hometown and in only his second career start, Evan Foster was 24 of 30 for 255 yards and had no touchdowns. Landon Walker had 18 rushes for 142 yards on the ground and tied a Colorado Mines record with four touchdowns. Max McLeod caught eight passes for 94 yards.
• Fort Lewis at Black Hills State#, 2 p.m. (RMAC Net), FLC trails 3-8 – After snapping a 40-game losing streak, Fort Lewis is looking to snap another losing streak, a 4-game losing streak against Black Hills State. In their last game on September 14, Black Hills State lost to St. Thomas 24-14. Fort Lewis trails in the series 3-8. On September 14, Fort Lewis beat Arizona Christian 17-12 to snap the longest losing streak in college football at 40 games. Their quarterback, Stone Walker, finished with two touchdowns, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown. He threw for 124 yards and had 57 yards rushing. This week Fort Lewis is looking to get their first win against a conference opponent since 2019.
• Colorado Mesa at CSU Pueblo#, 2 p.m. (RMAC Net), CSUP leads 17-6-1 – Two RMAC schools from the state of Colorado play each other for the 25^th time. CSU Pueblo has won the last six. CSU Pueblo leads the series 16-7-1. Last Saturday, Colorado Mesa was defeated by Central Washington 28-12. Last Saturday, CSU Pueblo was defeated by Grand Valley State 24-21 after being down. Quarterback Devin Larsen leads CSU Pueblo. This season, he has passed for 1,120 yards, 11 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Colorado Mesa struggled on third down in their last game, as they were 3 for 12. They also only made it to the red zone 3 times. Colorado Mesa has a demanding schedule to start conference play, as two weeks later, they play against Colorado Mines.
• UTEP at Colorado State, 3 p.m. (tru-tv); CSU leads 25-10 – CSU plays UTEP for the first time since 2013. The last time they played, CSU won 59-42. CSU leads the series 25-10. On Saturday, UTEP was defeated by Liberty 28-10. On Saturday, CSU was defeated by Rival Colorado 28-9. CSU played well on offense, but they could not beat Colorado because of turnovers. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi threw two interceptions against Colorado, and both happened when they were in a great position to score points.
• Adams State at Western Colorado#, 6 p.m. (RMAC Net), WC leads 43-32 – Western Colorado has won the last 3 meetings between these two teams. Western Colorado leads the series 43-32. Last Saturday Western Colorado defeated West Texas A&M 26-17. Last Saturday, Adams State was defeated by Texas Permian Basin 67-14. In their win last week, Western Colorado quarterback Drew Nash ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 185 yards.
• Northern Colorado at Stephen F. Austin, 6 p.m. (ESPN+), First Meeting – Northern Colorado looks to rebound from a loss on a last-second field goal against Abilene Christian as they play Stephen F. Austin in the first meeting between the schools. Last Saturday, Northern Colorado was defeated 24-22 by Abilene Christian. Last Saturday, Stephen F. Austin was beaten by McNeese State 28-24. Northern Colorado is 0-3 this season and has lost 15 in a row.
• Baylor at Colorado*, 6 p.m. (FOX), CU leads 9-7 – Colorado is playing in their first Big 12 game since 2010. Baylor won the last matchup between the two schools 31-25 back in 2010. Colorado leads the series 9-7. Last Saturday, Baylor defeated Air Force 31-3. Last Saturday, Colorado defeated Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Showdown 28-9. Colorado is led on both sides of the ball by cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter. Hunter was last week’s Big 12 defensive player of the week. He recorded five tackles and an interception. He also had 13 receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter played 123 of 138 snaps from scrimmage.

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