There will be massive implications in the Pac-12 this week as the no. 15 Washington Huskies host the Colorado Buffaloes. Game time is set for 3:30 EST on Saturday, October 20, at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Fans can watch the game nationally on Fox.
The Huskies have opened the week as 15.5-point favorites at home. Click here to check out all of this week’s college football betting odds.
Both teams enter this game looking to bounce back from a loss. Washington suffered a heartbreaker last week against Oregon, missing a last-second field goal before losing in overtime. At 5-2, the Huskies are all but out of the running for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
However, a Pac-12 title is still very much on the table. The Huskies are one of four teams in the Pac-12 North that have just one conference loss. If Washington can win out and get a little help in the form of an Oregon loss, they can win the North division and play in the conference championship game. That means they have to quickly get over last week’s loss and get back to winning.
Colorado is in a similar position, as they suffered their first loss of the season last week following their 5-0 start. Despite a comeback attempt, Colorado fell to USC 31-20 on the road. That loss quickly bounced them from the top-25, but it didn’t ruin their season. If the Buffs can win out, they have a chance to win the Pac-12 South division unless USC also runs the table in conference play.
Of course, running the table will be easier said than done for Colorado. Aside from this week’s road trip to Washington, the Buffaloes still have to play no. 25 Washington State and a tough Utah team in November. After such a strong start to the season, Colorado doesn’t want to see everything fall apart the second half of the season.
The Buffaloes are also trying to break an eight-game losing streak at the hands of Washington. The Huskies have won all six meetings between these teams since Colorado joined the Pac-12, and most have been by wide margins. Over the past two seasons, Washington has out-scored Colorado 78-20, exemplifying a rather lopsided rivalry.
Despite last week’s loss, I think Washington is a rock solid team that has a real chance to win all of their remaining games. However, I don’t like them enough to swallow 15.5 points against a team that was a top-20 team a week ago. I don’t think the gap between these two teams has been as big as it’s been the past few years. Colorado is more than good enough to keep this a competitive game, so I’ll lean toward them to beat the 15.5-point spread, which seems a little outrageous to me.
Covering a spread like this usually requires some explosive plays offensively, and I’m just not sure Washington is that kind of team. In six games this year against FBS opponents, quarterback Jake Browning has only thrown for more than a single touchdown once. There’s also a chance the Huskies will be without starting running back Myles Gaskin after he picked up a shoulder injury last week against Oregon. As much as I like the Huskies, they’ve only scored more than 30 points against an FBS team twice this season. They’ll definitely need to score 30-plus to cover this week’s spread, so I have some concern there.
It’s not as if Colorado has a lackluster defense; the Buffs are solid on that side of the ball. They yielded a few big plays against USC, but the Trojans only managed a field goal and a pick-six in the 2nd half, so the Colorado defense got some stops when they needed to. In three games against Pac-12 teams, the Buffs are only giving up 23 points per game, so I think they’ll hold up well against the Washington offense.
I’m also not ready to lose faith in the Colorado offense. Quarterback Steven Montez had a rough game against the Trojans last week. But he’s still one of the better passers in the Pac-12. The Buffs also have one of the best receivers in the country in Laviska Shenault Jr. That duo gave USC some trouble and I think they’ll provide a considerable challenge for Washington as well. Plus, after facing the kind of talent on the USC defense, I think Colorado will be a little better prepared to face Washington’s defense. Even if it doesn’t come easy, the Buffaloes should find a way to move the ball and put some points on the board.
For the record, I’m not predicting Colorado to pull off the upset over Washington. However, other than their win over BYU, the Huskies haven’t had any comfortable wins against FBS teams this season, so I have my doubts about them covering 15.5 points against Colorado. In the end, the Buffs will score enough points to stay within striking distance and the Huskies won’t create enough big plays to pull away. I’ll take my chances with Colorado losing a close game and beating the spread.