Capsule previews of Saturday games

No. 5 Texas (4-0) at Colorado (3-1), 6 p.m. CDT (FSN)

Line: Texas by 131/2.

Series Record: Texas leads 9- 7.

Last meeting: 2005, Texas won 70-3 in Big 12 title game.

What's at stake: A win in the Big 12 opener. A Texas victory sets up a big showdown next week with No. 1 Oklahoma in Dallas. A Colorado win makes the Buffaloes serious contenders to win the Big 12 North.

Key matchup: Watch the trenches when Colorado has the ball. Texas has 14 sacks in the past two games, and the Buffs are trying to protect QB Cody Hawkins with an offensive line missing tackle Ryan Miller. He broke his leg last week in a loss to Florida State.

Players to watch

Texas: QB Colt McCoy. Who else? McCoy is having a stellar season, completing 80 percent of his passes and throwing for 14 touchdowns. He's also the Longhorns' leading rusher with 278 yards and four TDs while averaging 8.2 yards per carry.

Colorado: RB Rodney Stewart, if you can find him. The Texas defense might have trouble spotting the 5-foot-6, 175- pound freshman who has run behind his big blockers for 349 yards. Stewart's early success has stolen the spotlight from freshman Darrell Scott, a top national recruit.<

Facts & figures: Texas and Colorado waged a fierce recruiting battle for Scott and UT's loss looms large. McCoy is leading Texas in rushing in part because the Longhorns haven't found a go-to tailback. ... Texas outscored its first four opponents 198-43. ... The Longhorns have been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last five meetings with Colorado. The Buffaloes' only victory in that stretch came in the 2001 Big 12 title game. No. 7 Texas Tech (4-0) at Kansas State (3-1), 2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (ABC)

Line: Texas Tech by 71/2.

Series record: Texas Tech leads 6-3.

Last Meeting: 2005, Texas Tech 59-20.

What's at Stake: Texas Tech has its highest ranking since reaching No. 5 and spending eight weeks in the top 10 in 1976. After watching four top 10 teams fall last week, the Red Raiders are hoping to avoid a similar letdown after their bye week.

Key Matchup: Kansas State has been abysmal at stopping the run this season, allowing 300 yards to Louisiana Lafayette last week. Texas Tech is still a passing team, leading the nation at 426.2 yards per game, but has put an added emphasis on the ground game, increasing it by 90 yards per game over last season to 146.5.

Players to Watch

Texas Tech: RBs Baron Batch and Shannon Woods combined for 286 yards rushing and receiving in a 56-14 win over Massachusetts. QB Graham Harrell is averaging 393.2 yards passing per game, putting him on pace to rank second all-time to Hawaii's Timmy Chang, who had 17,072 yards from 2000-04.

Kansas State: QB Josh Freeman has thrown at least two TD passes in seven straight games, including two games with five scoring passes. WR Brandon Banks leads the nation in receiving yards per game (115.8) and has six TDs — all over 30 yards.

Facts & figures: Kansas State is one of three teams in the country that hasn't allowed a sack. ... Texas Tech is 8-4 in Big 12 openers. ... The Red Raiders have scored 30 or more points in 20 of the past 22 games. ... Kansas State has nine touchdown drives of 2 minutes or less this season.