Colorado’s defense, which allows an average of 24.2 points a game, won’t be at full strength when the Buffaloes visit Kansas University today at Memorial Stadium.

“Kansas has been a difficult place to play for us, and for some reason I can’t really put my finger on it,” CU coach Gary Barnett said about the Buffs, who have lost their last two games in Lawrence. “We are going to go in there limping, and we need to be really careful. We have a lot of young guys who are going to play.”

Like Kansas, Colorado thought its linebacker corps would be a deep, solid unit at the beginning of the season, but each team has juggled its lineup because of injuries.

KU (2-4, 0-2 Big 12) adjusted its rotation early in the season after the loss of starter Banks Floodman and backup Nick Clapp, and CU (3-2, 1-0) will be playing its first game since losing three inside linebackers in one weekend.

Starters Sean Tufts (ankle), Drew Wahlroos (elbow) and backup Aaron Killion (hamstring) all suffered injuries in last week’s 35-31 victory against Kansas State and aren’t expected to play today. Those three players had accounted for 62 tackles.

“We went from a very veteran group to a very thin and inexperienced group,” inside linebackers coach Brian Cabral said.

Senior Joey Johnson will move into a starting role after making 10 tackles in five games as a reserve. Backup linebackers Andrew Ward and Chris Hollis, true freshmen who have played primarily on special teams, also will be thrown into the mix.

“I’ve got no choice but to go with them,” Barnett said.

Starting safety Kory Mossoni also is expected to play linebacker today, which means additional playing time for backup safety Clyde Surrell in the secondary.

Barnett seemed confident his team could make due with a patchwork defense for now.

“This is probably a convenient time for this to happen,” said Barnett, whose team will face Kansas and Baylor in successive weekends. “We will be concerned if this goes on past two weeks.”

Baylor, of course, had lost 29 straight Big 12 games before defeating KU in the final seconds last weekend at Waco, Texas.

In addition to the injuries, the Buffs had to deal with the NCAA handing CU a two-year probation on Tuesday for 55 alleged rules violations, most falling under the watch of former coach Rick Neuheisel, now head coach at Washington.

One area where CU hasn’t been having problems is offense. Since suffering a 40-3 loss to Southern Cal on Sept. 14 at Boulder, which dropped Colorado to 1-2, the Buffs have scored 66 points in victories against UCLA and Kansas State.

CU averages 198.2 rushing yards per game, and the Buffs have run on 65 percent of their plays.

“This game, by far, will be our biggest test against the run,” KU safety Jake Letourneau said.

Junior running back Chris Brown leads the Big 12 with an average of 135.6 yards per game and has scored eight rushing touchdowns.

Colorado had 483 total yards against KSU. Brown’s 85-yard run was one of three scoring plays of more than 70 yards.

“Don’t be fooled,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “They can throw the ball, too.”

CU quarterback Craig Ochs announced he was leaving the team and school on Sept. 23 because of a history of concussions. Senior Robert Hodge took over and has completed 27-of-58 passes for 434 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

If their retooled offense can overcome their banged-up defense, the Buffaloes could celebrate their first victory in Lawrence since 1996.

“We haven’t played well the last couple times we’ve been to Kansas,” captain and offensive tackle Justin Bates said. “This is a big game for us. A lot of people are counting them out, but we know that they are going to be tough to beat. They are always a big challenge for us. We need to be ready.”

Sports writer David Mitchell can be reached at 832-6357.