Stanford @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 3, 2012 ) Stanford 48, Colorado 0

Stanford checked in at No. 11 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday and will have ample chance to move up with games remaining against Oregon, California, Notre Dame and, if all goes as planned, a matchup with the South Division champion in the Pac-12 Championship Game. But first, the ninth-ranked Cardinal must take care of business Saturday when they hit the road to face an improved Colorado program.

Despite its current seven-game win streak, which includes victories over USC, UCLA and Washington State, Stanford was left out of the initial top 10 by the CFP selection committee, but coach David Shaw prefers to look ahead. "The only poll that matters is the one at the end of the year," Shaw told the San Jose Mercury News. "And that's all I've got to say about that." Meanwhile, it’s been a banner season of individual accomplishments for Colorado with wide receiver Nelson Spruce becoming the Pac-12’s career receptions leader last week and Sefo Liufau in the process of rewriting the school’s passing record book, but the junior quarterback said he and his teammates have other priorities. "I don’t really care about records – no one on this team really cares about records, unless it’s wins and losses," Liufau said Tuesday at the program’s weekly media gathering. "We are just focusing on this week against a really good Stanford team and trying to focus on controlling what we can control. ... We want to play as close to a perfect game as we possibly can."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network. LINE: Stanford -16

ABOUT STANFORD (7-1, 6-0 Pac-12): The Cardinal remained the only undefeated team In Pac-12 play last Saturday night in Pullman, Wash. but needed to overcome a 22-10 third-quarter deficit and survived when Washington State kicker Erik Powell missed a 43-yarder wide right as time expired – his only miss in six field-goal attempts all night – for a 30-28 victory. Quarterback Kevin Hogan ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the win and also has quite the ally in sophomore tailback Christian McCaffrey, who ranks second in the Pac-12 in rushing (132.5 yards per game) and first nationally in all-purpose yardage (244.2). On the other side of the ball, Stanford is pacing the conference in total defense (352.1 yards per game) with linebacker Blake Martinez averaging a Pac-12 high 11.4 tackles per game.

ABOUT COLORADO (4-5, 1-4): The Buffs snapped a 14-game Pac-12 losing streak two weeks ago with a 17-13 win at Oregon State, but still are looking for a signature conference victory after dropping a hard-fought 35-31 decision at No. 22 UCLA on Halloween. Colorado held the ball for more than 41 minutes and ran a school single-game record 114 plays in outgaining the Bruins 554-400 but Liufau was intercepted twice in UCLA territory, including the game-ending pick at the 46-yard-line with 51 seconds remaining. Like Stanford, Colorado owns a top-four Pac-12 rushing offense at 195 yards per game, but the Buffs rank 10th in the stopping the run with 201.6 yards allowed.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Stanford holds a 5-3 series lead and has won four straight, including a 48-0 win in Boulder in the teams’ last Pac-12 meeting in 2012.

2. The game will be a homecoming for McCaffrey, who starred at nearby Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

3. Including the loss to UCLA, Colorado has dropped 20 straight games against ranked opponents.

PREDICTION: Stanford 32, Colorado 17