Seeing a fellow Big 12 Conference squad on the other side of the field Saturday doesn’t change Deion Sanders’ approach to this week’s game.

“Just because it’s a conference game, it’s still a football game,” Sanders said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. “We know we gotta win no matter who’s on the opposing side. But no, no, we don’t say, ‘Oh, this is a conference game, we gotta go harder.’”

Maybe not, but when the Buffaloes (2-1) face Baylor (2-1) at Folsom Field on Saturday (6 p.m., Fox), it will mark the beginning of a new era for the program. After 13 years in the Pac-12, the Buffaloes officially rejoined the Big 12 this summer, and Saturday will be their first Big 12 game since 2010.

While CU’s history in the Big 12 won’t matter on Saturday, there is perhaps some heightened urgency with conference play getting underway. Regardless of what happened in nonconference play, results within the conference can determine the postseason fate of certain teams later this season.

“I think everyone knows that, uh, to harken back to the ‘Three Amigos,’ this is real,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said, quoting a movie that is older than the Big 12, which came into existence in 1996.

For Sanders, though, it’s real because it’s the next game. After a convincing 28-9 win against in-state rival Colorado State last Saturday, Sanders wants his Buffs to continue progressing.

“I don’t think it was a great practice (Tuesday), but it was a good practice today,” he said. “My expectations are climbing with them, and I know what they can and cannot handle, but they gave a tremendous effort. We’re trying to clean up some things, even from last week. That game is behind us, but we’re trying to move forward and make sure we truly understand the physicality from week to week.”CU has shown better physicality in the trenches this year than a year ago and that’s contributed to better play on defense. There were also some positive signs on offense last week, with the pass-oriented Buffs rushing for a season-high 109 yards.

In getting the run game going and allowing just one quarterback sack, the CSU game was a boost of confidence for the maligned CU offensive line, and Sanders called that confidence “a tremendous, tremendous asset.” Facing Baylor is an opportunity to build on that.

“I know what they have inside of them. I believe in them,” Sanders said. “I’ve been believing in them since day one, and they just had one bad outing (at Nebraska on Sept. 7). We just build on each play and try to perfect each play and move on to the next. But I truly believe in those guys, run and pass.”

Defensively, the Buffs have been much more physical than a year ago. They’ve allowed 145.7 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 83rd nationally, but that’s a 30-yards-per-game improvement over last year. And, the Buffs have been fairly stingy against the run in the past six quarters.

To win in the Big 12, Sanders knows his team has to continue to win physical battles.

“First and foremost, every week is the same thing,” he said. “We want to be able to run the ball effectively. We want to be able to stop the run.”

Do that and the Buffs have a good chance of starting conference play with a win, although Sanders isn’t worried about Big 12 standings.

“Every game is at that level for us that we want to come out here and compete and give you our best, our absolute best,” he said. “I know this is a conference game, and it means a lot more to a lot of people, but every game means a lot to us. Every single game. It’s not like we say this is Big 12 and these are the rest of them. No, we gotta approach every game like it’s a darn Super Bowl, like it’s the last one that we may ever play or be a part of to coach.”