Can Buffaloes, Wolverines Play A Third Perils-Of-Pauline Thriller?

Here they go again.

Colorado returns to the scene of one of the most dramatic finishes in college football when the No. 8 Buffaloes play No. 14 Michigan in front of 106,000 at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

In 1994, Kordell Stewart threw a last-play, 64-yard touchdown pass caught by Michael Westbrook after it was tipped in the end zone to give the Buffaloes a 27-26 win.

Last year, at Boulder, Colo., the Buffs were in a similar situation. With Michigan ahead 20-13 and 5 seconds left, Colorado was at the Michigan 37. Koy Detmer’s pass into the end zone was tipped away by Chuck Winters just as the Buffs’ Rae Carruth looked as if he would make a diving catch.

“It has certainly been a game to talk about over the last few seasons,” Buffaloes coach Rick Neuheisel said. “Both games have come down to the last play, and when that happens, it usually makes for great drama.”

Last week, Colorado turned aside Colorado State, while Michigan becomes the last Division I-A team to open the season. And the Wolverines will do so with Brian Griese at quarterback.

Griese, the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese, beat out Scott Dreisbach, who started 11 games last season. Griese took over for Dreisbach and led Michigan’s 13-9 comeback win over Ohio State last season.

“I think his decision-making has improved, and I think he has shown great leadership skills,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said of Griese.

With each team coming away with a win, this will be a sort of rubber match, since the series has not been continued.

In a short time, Colorado-Michigan has turned into a can’t-miss game.

“Everywhere I went this summer, it’s amazing how many people want to talk about that game, even though we have some other rivalries around here,” Carr said.

The picks:

Temple (plus 37) at No. 1 Penn State: Owls’ winning streak ends at one… . PENN STATE 56-14.

San Diego State (plus 22) at No. 3 Washington: From Huard to Shehee to Chorak, Huskies possess star power… . WASHINGTON 41-14.

Maryland (plus 33-1/2) at No. 5 Florida State: Terps lost to Ohio U; and Seminoles scored only 14 points last week… . FLORIDA STATE 45-7.

Central Florida (plus 42) at No. 6 Nebraska: Pesky Golden Knights can score points with Daunte Culpepper… . NEBRASKA 56-20.

No. 17 Stanford (plus 13) at No. 7 North Carolina: Big point spread, good teams… . NORTH CAROLINA 24-21.

No. 8 Colorado (plus 1) at No. 14 Michigan: Can these teams go down to the final play three times in a row? Could be… . COLORADO 31-27.

Bowling Green (plus 38) at No. 9 Ohio State: Buckeyes coach John Cooper has another week to work in new players… . OHIO STATE 45-13.

No. 10 LSU (no line) at Mississippi State: If Kevin Faulk is OK, Tigers win; if not, Bulldogs are a threat… . LSU 27-21.

UCLA (no line) at No. 11 Texas: Bruins are best 0-2 team in country and Longhorns better be ready… . UCLA 27-24.

No. 12 Notre Dame (minus 19) at Purdue: Will Irish open up the offense? … NOTRE DAME 31-7.

No. 24 Arizona State (plus 9-1/2) at No. 13 Miami: Not the same Sun Devils who went 11-0 last season… . MIAMI 31-20.

No. 15 Alabama (minus 12-1/2) at Vanderbilt (Thursday): ‘Bama doesn’t miss defensive tackle Michael Myers in this one… . ALABAMA 31-14.

Mississippi (plus 20) at No. 16 Auburn: Tigers’ Dameyune Craig is one exciting quarterback… . AUBURN 28-13.

Tulsa (plus 24) at No. 18 Iowa: Hawkeyes running back Tavian Banks keeps rolling up yards… . 38-17.

No. 19 Clemson (plus 2-1/2) at North Carolina State: What the heck, let’s stick with the 2-0 Wolfpack… . NORTH CAROLINA STATE 24-23.

Ohio U. (plus 23) at No. 20 Kansas State: Bobcats in for letdown after big win over Maryland… . KANSAS STATE 41-14.

Memphis (plus 19) at No. 21 Michigan State: Spartans beware - they are 3-5-1 in games the week before playing Notre Dame… . MICHIGAN STATE 31-14.

Syracuse (plus 2-1/2) at No. 22 Virginia Tech: Three losses in a row for Orangemen? Yes … VIRGINIA TECH 35-31.

Washington State (plus 7) at No. 23 Southern California: With QB Ryan Leaf at the controls, Cougars capable of upset… . WASHINGTON STATE 28-27.

No. 25 Colorado State (minus 14) at Utah State: Rams rebound after tough loss at Colorado… . COLORADO STATE 35-17.

Last week: 17-0 (straight); 8-7 (point spread)

Season: 27-2 (straight); 14-13 (point spread)