LIVE updates: Colorado vs. Iowa State: Live score, news updates, highlights from the big 12 showdown

Colorado vs Iowa State game preview: 

22nd ranked Iowa State travels to Folsom Field to take on Coach Prime's Colorado Buffaloes. This game on paper is a tale of opposing trajectories. Iowa State is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 conference play. Colorado on the other hand is trying find answers midseason following a surprisingly bad start. Colorado is 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the conference, which is good enough for a tie for last place in the conference. 

Iowa State enters this game just on the outside of the Big 12's top tier. BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Cincinnati are all undefeated. This is a game Iowa State cannot afford to drop if they hope to be in the Big 12 title mix towards the end of the season. Colorado's need to win should be much more dire. Following today's game, Colorado has five games remaining and none of them at this point seem like penciled in wins. If Colorado is going to right the ship, it needs to be today. 

Colorado enters this game with a top performing offensive line in the conference and a perceived dedication to running the ball, but as of yet have been less than dominant. The passing game, something that is usually a Coach Prime staple has also been lacking this year. In part due to a QB carousel that Sanders seems to have settled on. Iowa State on the other hand, comes into this game averaging 30 points per game and most of that comes through the air. The Cyclones are the worst rushing team in the Big 12 and alarmingly, a bottom 10 rushing team in the nation. If Colorado wants to win this game, it could require a consistent dose of the run game, which would be a first on the season. For Iowa State, can they get vertical through the air better than Colorado's secondary can stop it.