Houston Cougars football will head back out on the road for Week 11 action as they take on the Colorado Buffaloes. This will be Houston's first-ever trip out to Boulder, Colorado in program history. Houston enters at 7-2 and 4-2 in the Big 12, while Colorado is currently 3-6 and 1-5 in conference play.

The Buffaloes are one of the worst teams in the Big 12 this season, ranked 13th out of 16. However, they have been more competitive than the record suggests, especially against top competition. Every road game in a Power Four conference can be a challenge, and this is no different for Houston, even with its ranking of No. 14 in the AP Poll.

What to Know About Colorado

Colorado came off a rough 2025 season where it went 3-8 and had just a 1-8 record in Big 12 play. The Buffs have already matched that win total so far and have shown some flashes even with what's still a poor record.

Colorado is coming off a 20-10 loss at Arizona State last week. Prior to that, it won a home game in overtime against Kansas State 27-24. The Buffaloes gave their best performance against a Utah team that is top three in the country. It was the closest game that Utah has been in all year and Colorado lost 27-24 at home back in Week 7.

Additionally, the Buffaloes also played Texas Tech very closely, even though the final score was 29-7. Colorado led 7-3 at halftime and trailed just 12-7 heading into the fourth. Houston will be the third-best team by record that Colorado will face this year, and it could be a battle.

Coach Deion Sanders is in his fourth season leading Colorado, and the Buffaloes have one of the best wide receivers in the Big 12 in junior Joseph Williams. He's currently second in the conference in receiving yards at 853 and receptions at 58. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Williams also has six touchdowns on this year.

Williams is the biggest offensive weapon Houston will need to consider. It's been somewhat of a struggle for Colorado junior quarterback Isaac Wilson, who transferred from Utah. He has eight touchdowns to eight interceptions, along with 1412 yards passing and a 62 percent completion rate.

Colorado has the worst-scoring offense in the Big 12 at 19.8 points per game and a below-average defense that ranks 13th with over 28 points per game given up. The Buffs' passing game, ranked 6th in the conference, is more reliable than their running game.

Defensively, Colorado does have the fourth most sacks in the Big 12 at 24, but also gives up sacks at a high rate as well, with 21 allowed.

The Cougars offense will need to watch out for senior linebacker Gideon ESPN Lampron, who has 99 total tackles along with 5.5 sacks and four passes defended.