The Washington State Cougars claw their way into Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, November 19th. The match-up is scheduled to go off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will televised on FOX. As of now, the Buffaloes are a -4.5 favorite and the game’s total is at 60.5.
Mike Leach’s Cougars lost their first two contests of the year, but since then it’s been winning football for the team out of Pullman. Victories over Idaho, and seven PAC-12 schools, including last week’s 56-21 destruction of Cal now have them sitting with eight straight victories.
#22 Washington State (8-2):
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk’s season continues to impress. Against the Golden Bears last week, Falk completed 36 of 50 passes for 373 yards, five touchdowns and a pick. All totaled, he has completed over 350 passes for over 3,600 yards with 33 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
There’s no doubt about it, the Cougars think pass first then run. When they do move the rock via the ground, they look to three sturdy tail backs to get the job accomplished. The trio has collected 1,364 yards on 228 carries and have reached the back of the end zone an impressive 21 times in 2016. Red zone threat Gerald Wicks, has only 71 carries on the year but 11 of those have been for scores.
Luke Falk spreads the football around about as good as any quarterback in the nation. He will throw to running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and you and I if we were out there. Eight players have caught at least 20 passes and four of those have at least caught 40 or more.
Wide out Gabe Marks leads all pass catchers with 68 grabs for just over 700 yards and 12 touchdowns. Second to Marks is River Cracraft, his 53 catches for 701 yards and five touchdowns will be missed. Unfortunately for the Cougar faithful, Cracraft exited last week’s contest against Cal with a torn ACL and his college career at Washington State has officially ended.
The Cougars defense has been a little better than average in 2016. They are 20th in the country against the run, allowing 117.3 yards per game. That being said, they are also 114th in the country against the pass, yielding over 271 yards per contest.
#10 Colorado (8-2):
The Buffaloes come into this match-up with the Cougars with the exact same record, but their season could have easily been without a loss. Colorado had a lead over mighty Michigan at half time before falling, 45-28. Mike MacIntyre’s team also fell on the road to a much improved USC outfit, 21-17.
Colorado will need another big game from Sefo Liufau like he gave them last week in the win over the Arizona. Liufau hit on 19 of 27 passes for 213 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. Even after being injured at times, the Buffaloes signal-caller has connected on 129 completions for over 1,500 yards with 10 touchdowns and three INT’s.
The opposite of their opponents, Colorado likes to run first and then look to throw the ball down the field later. Running back Phillip Lindsay is who the Buffaloes turn to when they need that yardage. This season, Lindsay has amassed 937 yards on 168 carries and 13 trips to pay-dirt. Sefo Liufau contributes too, rushing for 314 yards and three more scores.
Three Colorado receivers share passes from their quarterback equally. All three have caught over 40 passes that have went for over 1,600 yards and 13 scores. Route runner Shay Fields leads this trio with 710 yards and eight trips to the back of the end zone.
The real strength of the Colorado Buffaloes is their defense. The Buffaloes are ninth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 17.9 points per match-up. Their especially tough against the pass, surrendering only 176 yards per game, which is good for 10th in the country. That should come in handy against a stellar passing offense that the Cougars will bring.
Trends and Notes:
The Cougars are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games.
The Buffaloes are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
The Over is 6-2 in the Cougars last 8 conference games.
The Under is 5-1 in the Buffaloes last 6 games overall.
The Underdog is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
Game Prediction:
Washington State needs this win big-time. With an in-state match-up against the sixth ranked Washington Huskies looming next week, a loss here could upend their chances of competing for the PAC-12 crown.
The Colorado Buffaloes also need this game, and one more on their home turf against the 12th ranked UTES next week to have their shot at becoming champions of the conference.
There is no denying that this is a pivotal game for these two clubs on Saturday. The Buffaloes have ran off four straight after their last loss to the Trojans and the Cougars have won eight in a row. Something has to give.
In a game of this magnitude, expect the best that both have to offer. Las Vegas has the teams 4.5 points apart for this one, I say it’ll be closer than that. Take the underdog Cougars at +4.5 and watch what could be the game of the weekend.
