Editor’s Note: This is the ninth of 11 articles previewing Kansas’s competition in the Big 12 Conference. The articles will run every day from now until Sept. 1. Tomorrow, the Kansan will look at Kansas State.

While some teams in the Big 12 Conference opted for easier non-conference games this season, Colorado did not shy away from difficult opponents.

Colorado will travel to Miami to take on the University of Miami in their third game of the season.

The Buffaloes also open their season with a tough home game against rival Colorado State in a nationally televised contest. Colorado coach Gary Barnett said the hard schedule would prepare his team well for conference play, while also helping with recruiting.

Greg Heaggans, then junior wide receiver, attempts to spin past Gerrett Burl, then Colorado sophomore cornerback, while Darren Rus, then junior linebacker, looks to block during the game against Colorado last season. The Jayhawks will travel to Boulder, Colo., October 22 to take on the Buffaloes.

“It is part of the tradition,” Barnett said. “You come to Colorado, you get to play those great teams.”

Barnett said part of the reason he felt comfortable scheduling difficult games was because of the experience that senior quarterback Joel Klatt would provide.

Klatt started 12 of the Buffaloes 13 games last season, including the team’s appearance in the EV1.net Houston Bowl. He threw for 2,065 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Joel can coach our offensive line,” Barnett said. “He has taken all the young guys this summer, coached all the young quarterbacks and receivers. He is literally a coach on the field for you.”

Klatt’s main target will be senior tight end Joe Klopfenstein. Klopfenstein earned second-team all-Big 12 honors last season and caught 28 passes for four touchdowns.

Klatt said he will be looking to throw more long passes this season and avoid missing opportunities in the red-zone.

“We need to have the ability to strike for touchdowns over 25, 30 yards so that we don’t get into the games where all of a sudden we are beating our heads against the wall trying to run the football in the end zone,” Klatt said.

The running game will be led by senior tailback Lawrence Vickers, who could see action at running back and fullback. Vickers ran for 248 yards last season and also caught 27 passes for 274 yards.

On defense, the team’s biggest strength will be its linebackers. Senior linebacker Brian Iwuh racked up 98 tackles last season and look to lead the linebacker unit again this season. He is the team’s most experienced defensive player with 16 career starts.

Iwuh will be joined by sophomore linebacker Jordan Dizon. Dizon was named the Big 12’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year last season, after tallying 82 tackles. Junior linebacker Thaddaeus Washington will also return after starting much of last season.

A weapon that went unnoticed by some college football fans was junior placekicker Mason Crosby. Crosby was named to the Big 12 Preseason Football Team by the media, and has received All-American attention from various publications. Crosby will enter his third season at Colorado already third on its all-time list in field goals made, with 26. He is tied for sixth in scoring by a kicker with 137 points. Crosby also had a 60 yard field goal last year and was a perfect 15-for-15 from inside the 40 yard line.

“We wouldn’t have won eight games last season without Mason,” Barnett said. “He is a weapon for us. He is a once-in-a-25-year player.”

Colorado will open its conference schedule with a game at Oklahoma State Oct. 1 and will finish the regular season Nov. 25 with a home date against Nebraska.

­— Edited by Erick R. Schmidt