Colorado does get something out of the schedule: this is the Buffaloes' first home game since the Weber State win. They've played 3 of their first 4 on the road, and the 2 conference-caliber road trips went badly. Getting back to Boulder, with the altitude working against a visiting defense, is the best spot Colorado has had in weeks.
The Houston game is the useful one for judging Tech. It was a 2-point win over a team that came in ranked, and it's the one result on the schedule that suggests the Red Raiders can be taken to the fourth quarter. The rest of the start came against Abilene Christian, a rebuilding Oregon State and Sam Houston. Tech hasn't lost, but it also hasn't been tested much.
Abilene Christian33-10
Colorado's season has a gap in it that's hard to explain. The Buffs beat Georgia Tech 14-13 in Atlanta to open the year, and 2 weeks later they were run off the field at Northwestern. Whether this week looks like the Georgia Tech game or the Northwestern one probably comes down to whoever takes the first snap. It also depends on whether a defense that just gave up 23 at Baylor can slow an offense that scored 49 a week ago.
The early forecast for Boulder calls for 72 degrees and clear skies, with wind around 16 mph and a 26% chance of rain. That's a week-out forecast and it will change. The quarterback decision is the thing to watch before kickoff: whether Sanders goes back to the freshman or sticks with Wilson says a lot about what Colorado thinks it can do on Saturday.