What Kansas State football coach, players said about Colorado coach Deion Sanders' Buffs

MANHATTAN — Kansas State football is back on the road this weekend for a Big 12 After Dark showdown with Colorado.

The No. 19-ranked Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) Big 12 are trying to keep pace in the conference race against a Colorado team (4-1, 2-0) riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, with kickoff for the nationally televised game (ESPN) set for 9:15 p.m. central time at sold-out Folsom Field in Boulder.

Both teams are coming off byes after winning comfortably two weeks ago, with K-State beating Oklahoma State at home, 42-20, and Colorado taking down Central Florida on the road, 48-21.

Colorado features two of the college game's biggest stars in senior quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter, a standout on both offense and defense.

Here are five things Kansas State coach Chris Klieman and his Wildcat players had to say about Colorado coach Deion Sanders' Buffaloes earlier this week.

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Kansas State coach Chris Klieman on the Buffs' offense and defense

There's a lot of concerns that we have, obviously. Go to the offensive side, and I think (Shedeur) Sanders will be the first quarterback picked off the board (in next year's NFL Draft). He should be. In the film that I've seen of a lot of the top guys, I think he's an excellent thrower. You can't really confuse him. I've seen a lot of different teams try to manipulate coverage and disguise, and he does a really good job, pre-snap to post-snap, and he can make all the throws. And he has a lot of guys to throw the football to.

And then on defense, they're going to be aggressive. We're going to see probably a lot of man coverage and some pressure. And so, we have to be able to win in man coverage, and we have to be able to find ways to run the football.

Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson on Colorado WR-CB Travis Hunter

Travis Hunter is one of the Heisman favorites for a reason. He's a really talented player, and what he does on both sides of the ball is really special and doesn't get enough credit, I don't think.

A lot of people have their two cents to say about him. A lot of people want to hate on him, but he plays really hard, and being able to play as many snaps as he does, week in and week out is truly special.

K-State OT Carver Willis (from Durango, Colorado) on Boulder game atmosphere

It will be a fun environment, pretty electric. I'm sure that the student section will be similar to TCU, where they get personal, and you just have to sit there and not care. Obviously, it's a really cool stadium, a beautiful stadium, so that will be really fun. And everyone should be really set in at 8:15 (mountain time) and should be well on their way to having a good time.

Kansas State linebacker Austin Moore on the Colorado offense

Just how many weapons they have and how explosive they are. They're going to spread the ball all over the field, and whoever they get the ball to is going to be deadly and can score anytime.

K-State QB Avery Johnson on Colorado pass rush

It's a talented bunch, and they do like to bring pressure. The biggest thing for us is we have to do a really good job of preparing for that this week.

What are ways we can get the ball out of my hand quick if they do want to bring pressure and what are other ways we can identify the pressure before it happens.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: What Kansas State football coach, players said about Colorado coach Deion Sanders' Buffs