STANFORD, Calif. -- A year ago, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre watched his struggling team play Stanford close early before a pair of quick scores just before halftime broke the game open and helped catapult the Cardinal to its third Pac-12 championship in four years.How quickly things have changed.This season the Buffaloes are tied for first place in the South Division and charging hard toward a potential berth in the conference title game while Stanford is two games off the pace in the North and simply trying to stay in the postseason picture.Both teams can take a big step forward when they meet for a rare noon kickoff Saturday at Stanford Stadium.Beating Stanford would not only enhance the Buffaloes (5-2, 3-1) hold on the division lead but it would also make them bowl eligible just one year after they lost eight of their nine conference games.Thats nice, Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay said, but he and his teammates remain focused on a bigger prize.Our goal is Pac-12 champs, theres nothing less than that for us, Lindsay said. The bowl game will come as we continue to win games. We just need to focus on ourselves and Colorado football.The Buffaloes are off to their best start since 2005 but have lost five straight to the Cardinal, including all three times since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011.MacIntyre said his team has to match Stanfords toughness in order to win, something the Buffaloes failed to do a year ago when they lost 42-10We have to be more physical than we were last year, MacIntyre said. We have to go in there and go toe-to-toe with them. We have to surpass what they do to be able to win the football game. Thats a big challenge for us.This year could be different.Stanford (4-2, 2-2) has come back to the pack after being dominant in the conference for several years. Many of the problems have come on offense and have been self-inflicted, from turnovers to costly penalties in the red zone that have repeatedly derailed the Cardinals once-prolific offense.Those are things that we dont have here and that we dont accept here, Stanford coach David Shaw said. The thing with us is not doing those things that hurt us. Its just those one or two plays that kill a drive that we just cant have.Here are a few more things to look for when Stanford hosts Colorado:MCCAFFREY ON THE MEND: Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey was held out of last weeks win over Notre Dame with an unspecified injury. The 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist did some light on-field work three days after the Cardinal beat the Irish but is still questionable. If McCaffrey cant go, Stanford will once again lean on Bryce Love, who had his first career 100-yard game against Notre Dame.RETURN OF THE MAC: Before taking over the Buffaloes program in 2013, MacIntyre spent three seasons as the coach at San Jose State and went 16-21 with the Spartans. While hes looking forward to going back to the Bay Area, MacIntyre wont have much time for walking down memory lane. After the game Ill probably get to see a few of those guys before we get on the bus to head back, MacIntyre said. That was a very special place in our familys lives.LINDSAY ON A ROLL: While McCaffrey is must-see TV every time he touches the ball, Lindsay has also done quite well for himself this season. The Colorado junior leads the Pac-12 with 614 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns and is the reigning conference player of the week after rushing for a career-best 216 yards and three scores against Arizona State.GILBERTS PASS RUSH: Colorado outside linebacker Jimmie Gilbert leads the Pac-12 with 6 + sacks this season and leads the nation with five forced fumbles. Gilbert has had at least one forced fumble in three consecutive games and will be facing a Stanford offensive line that has been banged up most of the year.Fake White Sox Jerseys . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Chicago White Sox Shirts . 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Chicago White Sox Store . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL.PHOENIX -- Try as he might, Patrick Corbin just cant seem to find his old form this season.The Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander was 20-13 combined in 2013 and 2015, missing the 2014 season to recover from major elbow surgery. This year hasnt gone so well for him.Corbin (4-11) allowed four runs on eight hits in five-plus innings in the Diamondbacks 15-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in a four-hour marathon on Saturday night. He walked five, struck out five and dealt with at least two runners on base in every inning he worked.Corbin hasnt won since June 21, going 0-5 in his last eight starts. However, he managed to find some positives in his latest outing.After that (first inning) I thought I made some good pitches, Corbin said. They got a couple of hits but I was able to make pitches and work my way out of a couple of jams.Corbins stat line wouldve looked better if not for the Brewers Ryan Braun, who homered twice and tied a team record by driving in seven runs.Braun hit a pair of three-run homers and also had a sacrifice fly. He has 18 home runs this season and 25 career multihomer games.Two of the runs charged to Corbin came from Brauns first home run. And while Corbin might have kept the Diamondbacks close, the bullpen could not. Arizonas pen gave up 11 runs in four innings.This is a big boy game. We do what we can do as coaches and manager and talk to them but it has to be inside of them, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said of his pitchers. We have to do a better job of stemming the tide. Some of their hitters are swinging the bat really well now. We need to change the game plan up a little bit.Brewers leadoff man Jonathan Villar reached base six times and scored three runs and Keon Broxton went 5 for 5 with two RBI. Orlando Arcia scored four times in Milwaukees highest-scoring game of the season.Matt Garza (3-4) pitched a season-high 6 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs and three hits.Just making pitches. Making them hit pitches that they werent comfortable hitting and thats it, Garza said.ddddddddddddMilwaukee scored two runs on a hit, walk, wild pitch and two sacrifice flies in the first inning.Reliever Evan Marshall gave up Brauns first home run and the second drive came against Dominic Leone. The Diamondbacks bullpen then gave up six runs in the ninth.Garza held Arizona scoreless on two hits until the seventh, when Welington Castillo hit a two-run homer.Jhan Marinez came on with a runner at first and surrendered Jean Seguras two-run homer to make the score 9-4.CHASE CHEERS CHASEBrewers pitcher Chase Anderson acknowledged cheers from the crowd at Chase Field when he was welcomed back to Phoenix for the first time since being traded over the offseason. Anderson pitched six innings in a no-decision on Friday night.SCORING CHANGEBrewers catcher Martin Maldonado moved to second base in the fourth inning on what was ruled a defensive indifference in Friday nights game, but that was wiped out with a scoring change on Saturday. Maldonado was credited with his first stolen base of the season when it was determined that he was being held on at first base before the play.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock, who sustained a fractured right elbow just before the season started, went 1 for 4 as the DH for the Arizona League Diamondbacks on Saturday night. Hes working toward a 2016 debut before the end of the month and will hit in another rookie league game Sunday. ... OF David Peralta is day-to-day with a wrist injury after being held out of Saturdays game.UP NEXTBrewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (6-10) gets the start on Sunday against Arizona. He is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three career starts against the Diamondbacks.Diamondbacks: RHP Archie Bradley takes on the Brewers. He got the win against Milwaukee on July 27, and is 4-7 with a 4.75 ERA this season. ' ' '