Colorado at Washington State Week 8 NCAAF Odds & Expert Pick

Colorado played in the Pac-12 title game last year but has come crashing back to earth. No. 15 Washington State still has a shot to play in it this winter for the first time in school history but can’t afford to be upset for the second week in a row on the NCAAF odds. The Cougars are favorites to win at – 10.5, but can they actually do that?

Colorado at Washington State Week 8 NCAAF Odds & Expert Pick

When: Saturday, 10:45 PM ET Where: Martin Stadium, Pullman TV: ESPN Stream: WatchESPN Radio:  850AM KOA (Colorado) / 104.3 FM (Washington State) Opening NCAAF Odds: Wazzu -10.5

Weather Forecast

• Rain: 7^°C/44^°F
• Humidity: 87%
• Precipitation: 78%
• Wind: 16 mph S
• Cloud Cover: 100%
• Type of Stadium: Open

Last Season

The Buffs beat No. 24 Washington State 38-24 in Boulder in 2016. Sefo Liufau (now gone) threw for 345 yards, rushed for 108 more and scored three touchdowns to lead Colorado. Liufau became the second-ever Colorado QB to throw for 300 and rush for 100 in a game. Phillip Lindsay added 144 yards rushing and two TDs for the Buffaloes. Lindsay is still there.  Luke Falk threw for 325 yards and three scores for Washington State. Falk is still there. Colorado leads the all-time series 6-4. Each team owns a win when facing each other in Pullman with WSU recording a 27-3 win in 2015 while CU earned a 35-34 victory in 2012, Mike Leach’s first season at Washington State. Leach has gone 2-5 all-time against the Buffaloes.

Top College Football Week 8 Betting Matchups

Series History

• Total Meetings: 10
• First Meeting: September 19th, 1981. Boulder, Colorado
• Last Meeting: November 19th, 2016. Boulder, Colorado
• All-Time Series: Colorado Buffaloes 6-4-0
• Largest Margin of Victory: Washington State 27-3 (2015)
• Longest Win Streak: Colorado 3 (1982-1996)
• Current Win Streak: Colorado 1 (2016)

Why Bet On Colorado?

The Buffs (4-3) come off a 36-33 win over a bad Oregon State team. Lindsay rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Steven Montez and wide receiver Bryce Bobo hooked up for three scores — with Bobo throwing one to Montez as the Buffs ended a three-game skid. The final Montez-to-Bobo score came with just 1:34 left in the game, when a Montez pass to the left side capped a nine-play, 82-yard scoring drive to give the Buffs their 36-33 lead. Oregon State then drove into CU territory on its final possession, but a 52-yard field goal try with 10 seconds left fell short. Lindsay now has 466 yards rushing and five touchdowns in his last two games. Montez was 6-of-14 passing for only 100 yards through three quarters. He was sacked twice and Colorado’s offense was 3-of-8 on third downs, on the field for 19 fewer minutes than the Beavers were and had run 39 plays to Oregon State’s 62.  In the fourth, Montez was 8-of-10 passing for 68 yards and two touchdowns – both to Bobo – while also adding 29 yards rushing on four carries in the final 15 minutes. In the last two games, the Buffs have produced 10 scoring drives of 70 yards or longer, averaging more than 10 plays per drive on those possessions (three have been 15 plays or longer). The Buffs are now one of just two programs in the country with four scoring drives of at least 15 plays.

Team Statistics

Offense:

• Average Score For: 29.43
• Total Yards: 432.14
• Pass Yards: 251.71
• Rush Yards: 180.43

Defense:

• Average Score Against: 24.14
• Total Yards: 424.28
• Pass Yards: 228.71
• Rush Yards: 195.57

Why Bet On Washington State?

The Cougars (6-1) were stunned 37-3 at unranked Cal last week. Camryn Bynum had two of California’s five interceptions against Falk. Cal was just 1-52-1 against top 10 teams since 1978 with the only win coming over No. 3 Southern California in 2003 before breaking through against mistake-prone Washington State. Falk threw for 286 yards, upping his career total to 13,179, 3rd-most in Pac-12 history. The Cougars enter the week tied for the national lead with 49 tackles-for-loss (Ohio State), with the best pass defense (162.4/G) in the Pac-12 and No. 10 ranked total defense (288.3/G). The “Speed D” features nine returning starters from a 2016 group that forced 23 turnovers and held opponents to 134.2 rushing yards per game, third-lowest in the Pac-12 Conference. Wazzu has forced 15 turnovers this year, tied for the fourth-most in the Pac-12 lead and No. 11 in the country while the seven fumble recoveries are No. 13 in the nation and the eight interceptions are No. 21 nationally. Now in their third season under coordinator Alex Grinch, the Cougars are 18-3 when forcing multiple turnovers in a game. Falk is the NCAA’s active career leader in passing yds (13,179), TD (108), yds/g (346.8), total off (12,803).  Falk needs 422 passing yards to break Sean Mannion’s (OSU) Pac-12 passing yards record (13,600). The Cougars are 6-1 for the first time since the 2003 team started 7-1. The Cougars opened the season with 30+ points in six straight games for the first time since 2001.

Team Statistics

Offense:

• Average Score For: 34.43
• Total Yards: 455
• Pass Yards: 380.86
• Rush Yards: 74.14

Defense:

• Average Score Against: 21.14
• Total Yards: 288.29
• Pass Yards: 162.43
• Rush Yards: 125.86

Latest NCAAF Odds Trends

• Colorado is 1-6 ATS in the last 7 games at home
• Colorado is 10-3 SU in the last 13 games at home
• The total went UNDER in 4 of Colorado’s last 6 games on the road
• Washington State is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
• Washington State is 6-1 SU in the last 7 games
• The total went UNDER in 4 of Washington State’s last 5 games

Expert Pick & Prediction

Last week will serve as a wake-up call for Washington State. Cougars easily cover the spread here in the NCAAF odds.