EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 20^th, the (5-1) Colorado Buffaloes will be on the road to take on the (5-2) Washington Huskies.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Washington 34.0 – Colorado 21.8 with an over/under of 55.9.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Washington 31 – Colorado 14.

Mark is predicting a final score of Washington 42 – Colorado 14.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Colorado 272.5 YPG > Washington 267.9 YPG

Rushing offense: Colorado 180.5 YPG > Washington 174.0 YPG

Scoring offense: Colorado 34.8 PPG > Washington 28.9 PPG

Scoring defense: Washington 16.0 PPG > Colorado 20.5 PPG

Passing defense: Washington 178.6 YPG > Colorado 214.7 YPG

Rushing defense: Washington 136.6 YPG > Colorado 136.8 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Colorado +0.8 > Washington 0.0

Summary:

Colorado is (5-1) to start the season with wins over Colorado State, Nebraska, New Hampshire, UCLA, and Arizona State.  Their first defeat was a 31-20 road loss last week against the USC Trojans.  Colorado actually won the turnover battle 3-1 and the time of possession but they managed only 265 total yards against the USC defense.  Quarterback Stephen Montez has completed 70% of his passes for 1,590 yards with 11 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Running back Travon McCMillan has rushed for 560 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Laviska Shenault Jr. is the nation’s third leading receiver with 780 yards to go along with 6 touchdowns.  The Buffaloes’ defense ranks 53^rd against the pass (214.7 YPG) and 45^th against the run (136.8 YPG).

Washington is (5-2) to start the season with victories over North Dakota, Utah, Arizona State, #20 BYU, and UCLA.  They were defeated 21-16 by #9 Auburn in week one and 30-27 by #17 Oregon last week.  The overtime defeat to Oregon has especially heartbreaking for the Huskies as it essentially removes them from playoff contention.  The Huskies rank 67^th in points per game (28.9) and 10^th in scoring defense (16.0 PPG).  Quarterback Jake Browning has completed 66% of his passes for 1,751 yards with 10 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Running back Myles Gaskin has rushed for 623 yards and 5 touchdowns but was banged up in last week’s loss to Oregon.  Salvon Ahmed (319 yards, 4 touchdowns) is a more than capable replacement should Gaskin not be 100%.  Aaron Fuller (589 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Ty Jones (322 yards, 5 touchdowns) are a dynamic pair or wideouts.  The Huskies’ defense ranks 15^th against the pass (178.6 YPG) and 44^th against the run (136.6 YPG).

Bottom Line:

This is quite the interesting match-up as each team is coming off a tough loss that put an end to their playoff dreams.  Washington failed to register a sack in their loss to Oregon and will need to get pressure on Montez who is quietly one of the better quarterbacks in the country.  The Huskies can lean on the experience of Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin to bounce back with a much better performance at home.

Washington wins 28-21

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