The Washington State Cougars put forth one of the biggest duds of the season last Friday night in Berkeley where they got woodshedded by the Golden Bears 37-3 as 16-point road chalk. The Colorado Buffaloes just logged their first Pac-12 win of the season in Corvalis where they escaped with a 36-33 win and non-cover against the Beavers. The sailing won’t be nearly as smooth in this trip to Pullman where the Buffs were held to three points in their last visit.
This matchup in Week 8 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 10:45 p.m. ET at Martin Stadium. This game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Colorado +10
Washington State -10
Odds Analysis
The Cougars initially opened as 10-point favorites to win this game early Sunday evening. Not surprisingly, the betting public has hit the Mad Scientist’s squad with reckless abandon. The line is already up to -10.5 and it wouldn’t shock me in the least if it crept up even higher all the way up until kickoff. Colorado looks to have taken a step back off last year’s solid campaign, while Wazzu enters this tilt off being embarrassed on national television. They’ll be out to sweep that effort under the rug in this one.
Player to Watch
Luke Falk – The Cougars field general was flat out atrocious last Friday night at Cal. Though he completed better than 65 percent of his passes, he only threw for 286 yards and was picked off five times without throwing a single touchdown. That brings his TD/INT ratio up to 19:7, and he’ll no doubt be out to turn it around against a Colorado defense that’s conceded better than 230 passing yards per game and allowed an average of 13.7 yards per completion ( No. 101 ). Falk’s thrown for 1,718 yards and a 16:2 TD/INT ratio at home. He’ll need to revert back to that form if his team is to win let alone cover.
Key Stat
+.70 – Off back-to-back clean games, the Buffaloes need to shoot for three straight games without turning the pigskin over if it’s to have any shot of dealing with the Cougars in Martin Stadium on Saturday. Save for last week, Falk had been doing a tremendous job valuing possession of the rock. Even so, Wazzu own a -0.2 turnover margin per game, while Colorado is averaging nearly one forced turnover per game more than its opposition. The Cougars rank No. 17 in the country in time of possession, so if CU is unable to force many turnovers, it will have an issue having enough time to make hay on the scoreboard.
Free ATS Pick
Washington State only suffered two losses in Pac-12 play last season. One of them occurred in Boulder with much on the line after the Buffs scored the 38-24 win and cover as 6-point chalk. The defeat snowballed a terrible end to the season for Leach’s kids, and that likely won’t be forgotten. Pair that with the Cougars coming off their first loss of the season, and I can’t help but think the team will be amped to get back on the field and erase the memory of that ugly defeat as soon as possible. A tricky spot at revamped Arizona awaits next week, so it’s of utmost importance the team puts its best foot forward and handles the Buffaloes with ease in this revenge spot. I think they do just that.
College Football Odds: Cougars 34, Buffaloes 17
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