DENVER (Ticker) -- Gary Barnett's first season at Colorado begins amidst what should be a wild crowd at Mile High Stadium as the 17th-ranked Buffaloes battle rival Colorado State.

Hailed as a miracle worker after leading perennial Big Ten Conference doormat Northwestern to the 1996 Rose Bowl, Barnett took over the Buffaloes program on January 20. He served for six years as an assistant under Bill McCartney at Colorado.

The Buffaloes were 8-4 in 1998, bouncing back from a 5-6 mark in 1997, the school's worst record in 13 years. One of the team's best performances came on September 5, when they beat the Rams, 42-14, in front of 76,036 at Mile High.

"We're looking forward to the atmosphere," Barnett said. "A year ago it was a playoff atomsphere. It will be good for us to get out and get after it."

Some things will be different at Colorado under Barnett. The Buffaloes ranked 12th in the nation in defense last season but Barnett has switched the unit from man-to-man to zone.

"I think the biggest transistion is playing all the zone we are playing," Barnett added. "We have some terrific players but they are used to playing man-to-man. We're getting our hands on a lot more balls ... also getting used to all the different calls and adjustments you don't have with man-to-man."

The offense is solid, as almost every key member of the line returns, as does starting quarterback Mike Moschetti and a slew of running backs, including Dwayne Cherrington and Cortland Johnson.

Colorado State, on the other hand, has several players to replace on offense. Quaterback Matt Newton is new but should receive a lot of help from senior fullback Kevin McDougal, who will do the bulk of the running.

McDougal carried 105 times for 547 yards and four touchdowns last while splitting time with the departed Damon Washington.

While the Rams' offense might struggle at first, the defense is once again extremely strong. Several key members return from a unit that ranked 31st in the nation last season. Linebacker Rick Crowell and defensive end Clark Haggans are the stars.

Colorado leads the all-time series, 53-15-2, and has won the last eight dating to the Rams' 23-7 victory on the road in Boulder in 1986.

COLORADO STATE Season schedule and results	COLORADO Season schedule and results
Sep. 4 @Colorado 7:00pm ET Sep. 11 Nevada 3:00pm ET Sep. 16 @BYU 8:00pm ET Oct. 2 New Mexico State TBA Oct. 9 @Fresno State 10:00pm ET Oct. 16 San Diego State TBA Oct. 23 @Wyoming 3:00pm ET Oct. 30 Utah 4:00pm ET Nov. 6 @New Mexico 4:05pm ET Nov. 20 Air Force TBA Nov. 27 @Nevada Las Vegas 4:00pm ET	Sep. 4 Colorado State 7:00pm ET Sep. 11 San Jose State 3:30pm ET Sep. 18 Kansas 3:30pm ET Sep. 25 @Washington 3:30pm ET Oct. 9 Missouri TBA Oct. 16 @Texas Tech 7:00pm ET Oct. 23 @Iowa State 2:00pm ET Oct. 30 Oklahoma TBA Nov. 6 @Kansas State 2:10pm ET Nov. 13 @Baylor 2:00pm ET Nov. 26 Nebraska 2:30pm ET