Colorado @ Washington State preview
Gesa Field at Martin Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 10, 2018 ) Washington State 31, Colorado 7
Two teams heading in the wrong direction meet Saturday night when Washington State hosts Colorado. The Cougars have suffered three straight losses after a 3-0 start while the Buffaloes have lost three of four after winning their first two contests.
Washington State’s current slide – their longest in-season losing streak in five years – began after it let a 32-point lead slip away in a stunning 67-63 home loss to UCLA on Sept. 21 and has continued with road defeats against nationally-ranked Utah (38-13) and Arizona State (38-34). “We have to be disciplined enough to not give up big plays,” Cougars coach Mike Leach said Monday at his weekly news conference. “We’re a team that can do a pretty good job of doing the same thing four times, maybe five. But then the sixth time we take our eye off of what we’re doing.” Colorado’s latest defeat was the program’s most lopsided loss since 2013 as the Buffaloes were completely outclassed Friday night in a 45-3 road beatdown at No. 12 Oregon. “When you play against a really good team, you can get exposed in areas,” first-year Buffs head coach Mel Tucker said Monday. “... So we’re going through it. It’s very uncomfortable for everyone involved, but in order to get better, you have to address it.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Washington State -13.5
ABOUT COLORADO (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12): Senior quarterback Steven Montez is averaging 265.7 passing yards per contest but was intercepted on four consecutive possessions midway through Friday’s loss to decisively turn the tide in the Ducks’ favor and finished with a career-high four picks and a season-low 131 yards. Standout wide receiver Laviska Shenault returned after a one-game core-muscle injury absence and caught four passes for a team-high 70 yards. The Colorado defense, led by linebacker Nate Landman (67 total tackles, including 50 solo stops), has surrendered at least 30 points in every game and ranks ahead of only UCLA in the conference in allowing an average of 480 yards per outing.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (3-3, 0-3): Defense is also a pressing issue for the Cougars, who are allowing 459 yards (ninth in the Pac-12) and 31.8 points (eighth) per contest. It resulted in the resignation of defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys after a 38-13 loss at Utah on Sept. 28, and it’s effectively negated the nation’s seventh highest-scoring offense (Pac-12-best 43 points per game) and senior quarterback Anthony Gordon, who paces the FBS with 435.3 passing yards per contest. Wideouts Easop Winston Jr. and Dezmon Patmon have combined for 70 catches, 945 yards and 13 TDs so far while running back Max Borghi has totaled 678 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Washington State has won five of the seven meetings with Colorado as Pac-12 foes, including 31-7 and 28-0 victories the past two seasons.
2. Colorado has won only one – a 34-31 win at Arizona State on Sept. 21 – of its last eight Pac-12 road games dating back to 2017.
3. Gordon has thrown for at least 440 yards and three TDs in all but one (252 yards one TD at Utah) of his six starts this season and will look to take advantage of an injury-depleted Buffs secondary that surrenders an average of 307.2 aerial yards (10th in the Pac-12).
PREDICTION: Washington State 38, Colorado 30