It was less than a year ago that Colorado was the talk of the Pac-12, the conference's biggest surprise under first-year coach Karl Dorrell.

The Buffaloes had started 4-0 in conference play with two other games cancelled due to COVID (including what would have been a highly-anticipated matchup with USC). They had the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in running back Jarek Broussard, who rushed for 895 yards and 5 touchdowns in just six games. For that matter, they had the No. 23-ranked rushing offense in the country at 212.33 yards per game.

For a fleeting moment, there was banter out west about Colorado being shortchanged in the Pac-12 championship chase due to the cancelled games and not getting a shot at the Trojans.

Then the Buffaloes lost 38-21 at home to Utah and got blown out 55-23 in the Alamo Bowl by Texas.

And that's kind of where Colorado finds itself now, as it hosts USC on Saturday afternoon in Boulder, Colo. (11 a.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network).

For as vulnerable as the Trojans (2-2) look -- having been blown out two of the last three weeks at home -- the Buffaloes (1-3) have had it even worse so far this fall.

Their lone win came against FCS Northern Colorado and since then they've managed just 20 combined points in losses to Texas A&M (10-7), Minnesota (30-0) and Arizona State (35-13). Across those three games, Colorado went 22 straight offensive possessions without scoring a point.

Even Broussard hasn't been the same, averaging 4.3 yards per carry (down from 5.7 last year) in totaling 188 rushing yards and 2 TDs over four games. With no help from the passing game and redshirt freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis (52.1-percent completion percentage, 313 total passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Colorado ranks 128th out of 130 FBS teams in total offense (239 yards per game) and 127th in scoring (13.8 points per game).

The Buffaloes rank 69th in total defense at 362 yards per game allowed.

Needless to say, they certainly aren't the talk of the Pac-12 anymore and Dorrell -- who was not viewed as an inspired hire at the time -- has lost whatever surprise shine he had a year ago.

If there is one game on the schedule this beleaguered Trojans team should win, it's Colorado -- which has never beat USC.

But anything seems possible with these Trojans this season.

For a closer look at the matchup, we bring in Justin Guerriero of CUSportsNation.com to break it down from the Colorado perspective.

Guerriero: "Broussard was never going to put up the numbers he did in 2020 for starters because the Buffs are utilizing more of a committee approach at tailback this season. Broussard and junior Alex Fontenot, the team's leading rusher in 2019, who missed the entirety of the condensed 2020 campaign, have assumed something of a 1A and 1B relationship with respect to divvying up the handoffs. To be exact, Broussard has taken about 29% of handoffs while Fontenot has not been far behind, as he's gotten roughly 24% of the year's carries to date.

"Additionally, the Buffs' offensive line hasn't exactly been stout in either the run or in pass protection. Two weekends ago against Minnesota, Colorado rotated in 11 offensive linemen in total. That unit stabilized considerably in last Saturday's loss at ASU, with (from left to right) Frank Fillip, Kary Kutsch, Colby Pursell, Casey Roddick and Jake Wiley settling into the primary five-man lineup and CU did take some modest steps in the right direction against the Sun Devils regarding the run game. That said, the ground attack was supposed to be this offense's bread and butter, replicating the success it had last season while alleviating some pressure off a young QB in Brendon Lewis. Suffice to say that hasn't happened yet this season."

Guerriero: "Brendon Lewis is most definitely going through some growing pains as he approaches career start No. 5 against USC and without question it is limiting what Colorado's offense is capable of. There's a reason CU owns literally one of the bottom five offenses across all FBS programs and it's because the passing game has been borderline nonexistent. Lewis has looked uncomfortable as a pocket passer and has struggled to quickly release the ball as well as identify and hit open men. Overall, his performance to date has been a major cause for concern and Colorado has managed to score just 20 points over three games. I just don't see a magic wand being waved and poof, Lewis turns into a guy who's going to pass for 200-plus yards per game. I think he's going to continue to incrementally improve, little by little.

"I could count on one hand the amount of passes over 20 yards Colorado has attempted all year. Lewis just has not shown an ability to locate guys downfield or frankly anywhere that's not a relatively short-yardage situation."