Looking at the remaining Colorado football schedule, Saturday’s home matchup against Washington (5-3, 1-3) might offer the Buffaloes’ best chance at winning the rest of the year. After all, this will be CU’s last game against a team that is not currently ranked in the top 25.
The Buffs are recovering from an overtime loss to UCLA, but the team appears to be responding nicely.
“Tuesday practices are sometimes hard, but we had one of our best Tuesdays of the entire year today,” said coach Mike MacIntyre at a post-practice conference.
Sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau said last year’s team might not have been able to stay competitive against a top team like UCLA, but this year, things are different.
“I think we have a lot more grit in terms of fighting back and fighting in close games against good teams,” Liufau said.
The Huskies are a good team, but they have lost two straight games (against two top-15 teams) and have only scored 30 points in those games. This is a godsend for the Buffs, who have recently faced some of the best offenses in college football.
On offense, Washington might be least threatening team in the Pac-12. The Huskies have scored more than 20 points in the conference only once, against one of the worst defenses in the Pac-12, California. Washington ranks 102nd in the nation in total offense.
Last week the Huskies were missing quarterback Cyler Miles due to a concussion, and redshirt freshman Troy Williams took his place. Williams did not do well, throwing for two interceptions, no touchdowns and only 139 yards. Miles, a Colorado native, looks like he will be returning on Saturday. But no matter who has played quarterback for the Huskies this year, they have averaged just 176 passing yards a game.
CU had its best running game last week against UCLA with 233 yards split among Michael Adkins, Phillip Lindsay and Tony Jones, but don’t expect that high of a total on Saturday. Against Pac-12 opponents — save Oregon — Washington has given up just a shade under 119 rushing yards per game.
Former Boise State coach Chris Peterson leads a Washington team that touts a better defense than the Buffs have been accustomed to seeing in the high-flying Pac-12. The Husky defense held California to just seven points earlier this season, and Colorado experienced how explosive the Cal offense can be in a 59-56 overtime loss in September.
“I’m very impressed with what Washington does, especially with their front seven on defense, the strength of their team,” MacIntyre said on Tuesday. “This is going to be a big test for us.”
You can’t talk about the Husky defense without mentioning senior outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha. Last week against Arizona State he recorded two sacks, making him the all-time leader at Washington. Kikhaha already has 14.5 sacks his season, which ties a Washington season record. Expect for Kikhaha to see some double teams or Colorado running backs staying back to block. George Frazier would seem like a prime candidate to do both at the tight end and fullback positions.
Washington also leads the country in defensive touchdowns, with six. Four of them have come from linebacker Shaq Thompson, who also got some playing time at running back last week.
There does seem to be a way to crack the Husky defense, though. In the two games Washington has given up more than 24 points, opponents have beaten the Huskies through the air. Eastern Washington piled up 475 passing yards, and Oregon amassed 336.
So if the Buffs are going to win, it’ll probably have to be with Liufau’s arm. Colorado has no problem relying on the sophomore this season, as Liufau already has the school’s single-season passing touchdown record.
The game will start at 11 a.m. MST and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
“I know it’s a big holiday, Halloween,” said junior defensive lineman Josh Tupou. “The student and fan support last week was awesome. It would be great to have that again.”
Notes: MacIntyre said sophomore defensive back Tedric Thompson was concussed in last Saturday’s game, but CT scans and MRIs came back negative. His status for this week’s game hasn’t been determined. Running back Christian Powell is expected to return after missing two weeks with a concussion. The University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame will introduce nine new members at halftime of Saturday’s game. Liufau will be playing against his home state; he was born in Tacoma.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jared Funk-Breay at jared.funkbreay@colorado.edu.
