First impressions are always remembered, and they offer some interesting background for this weekend's Big 12 North opener between Kansas State and Colorado.

Moving around the country in the coaching profession gave me the chance to interact with people I knew would be successful. When I visited North Texas head coach Hayden Fry and his staff in the spring of 1978 to talk about their varied passing game, the offensive coordinator for the Mean Green was current Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. I was thoroughly impressed with Bill's organization and attention to detail, and with some of the new concepts he was bringing to the college game.

For example, his tight ends never got into a three-point stance and they are still upright today. His team was also the first to utilize the no-back set with five wide receivers. He continued to use these innovations when he moved with Fry to Iowa, and Snyder's teams at Kansas State now use all kinds of formations. This coupled with his ability to choose outstanding assistants (Bob Stoops, Jim Lovett and Phil Bennett are all now head coaches) has made the Wildcats one of the elite teams in the Big 12.

I met Colorado coach Gary Barnett while he was at the Air Force Academy prep school. He helped us recruit some good players at Missouri and I continued to follow his career from CU to Northwestern and back. Gary has always been very competitive and was constantly trying to learn more about how other coaches operated. His rebuilding job at Northwestern, taking them to the 1996 Rose Bowl after the first of two straight Big Ten championships, is in my mind one of the greatest coaching jobs in college football history.

Now, on to the matchups.

Kansas St. offense vs. Colorado defense

	Ell Roberson gives the Wildcats a double-threat at quarterback.

Kansas State seems to have settled on Ell Roberson as its starting quarterback. His mobility and speed present a threat to any defense and the Wildcats will utilize several different formations. Their diverse attack leads the nation in scoring at 51.1 points per game, but Colorado is very capable of defending the K-State offense with a new 4-2 look on defense and the Buffs looked a lot better in their win over UCLA than in previous losses to Colorado State and USC.

This part of the game will center around the Wildcats' speed against CU's size. Look for Kansas State to feature the the option as well as sprint-outs and bootlegs against Colorado. Getting the ball to Taco Wallace on screens and quick-hitting slants will also be key for the Wildcats.

Neither team has a big plus or minus in the turnover game, so look for that phase of the game to be big. The Buffaloes will mix up their penetration game to attack Roberson, hoping to get pressure off the edge, and look for CU to expand its blitz package and take some chances with inside pressure. They cannot afford to give up big plays, though.

Colorado offense vs. Kansas St. defense

	Chris Brown leads a powerful Colorado rushing attack.

Colorado features a two-prong power running attack with Chris Brown and Bobby Purify and the Buffs are one of the best teams in the country at running the counter. They need to establish the run and let Robert Hodge direct the attack with a few play-action passes.

CU cannot get behind early because Hodge is not the kind of quarterback the staff wants throwing 25-30 passes per game, but he is very good as a field general in terms of getting Colorado into the right play, and the Buffaloes just need to pound the ball at the smaller Wildcats.

Kansas State's undersized defense ranks fifth in the country and did a great job for the first three quarters in a win over USC. The Wildcats utilize pressure fronts and will need to force some negative-yardage plays to get Colorado into second-and-long and third-and-long. Open-field tackling will also be key for K-State, and will be something to watch along with tackles for losses. Kansas State will need to be careful about over-committing to the run because Hodge could hit the play-action pass for an easy score.

Special teams
Special teams are always key, and what a matchup this game presents! Both teams are among the national leaders in punting, punt returns and kickoff returns.

Look for hidden yardage, which team can cover kicks and punts the best, to be huge in this game. Colorado punter Mark Mariscal has a chance to break the all-time record for punting average, and watch out for CU's Jeremy Bloom and K-State's Terence Newman. These guys are special on returns.

Colorado beat Kansas State last year in Manhattan to start the Buffaloes on a roll, but I look for the Wildcat's speed to help them get some revenge this year. Don't forget, back in August I picked K-State as the No. 1 sleeper team in the country.

ESPN.com college football analyst Jim Donnan will be taking part in chats and making observations on Saturdays as part of College GameDay Online.