Staff Predictions: Colorado vs Washington State

CUSportsNation.com staff writers Scott Hood, Jack Stern, and Mike Singer give their game predictions for Colorado's road contest with Washington State.

Not yet a subscriber? Click here to sign up now!

Colorado's main objective is kicking Washington State while they're down in the wake of the Cougars' dreadful 37-3 loss at Cal last Friday night. But that's easier said than done. Luke Falk is still one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12, if not the country, and he has the stats to prove it - 70.8 completion percentage and 2,286 yards with 19 TDs. His calm demeanor and ability to complete passes into tight windows is why NFL scouts are high on the former walk-on. Best way to minimize the damage from Falk? Do exactly what Cal did. Lots of pressure. The Golden Bears had 9 sacks of Falk last week. Thus, getting a pass rush with four defenders is essential. That is the Air Raid's Kryptonite. If you can generate pressure with four rushers and drop seven into pass coverage, you have a better chance to minimize the damage.

Falk wants you to blitz because that means fewer players dropping back and more 1-on-1 matchups. Offensively, the Buffs have the most success when they hand the ball to Phillip Lindsay. CU is 3-1 this season when Lindsay has 20+ carries, including 28 for 185 yards last week at Oregon State. Less than 20 carries? Buffs are 1-2 in those games. The trick is running against one of the best rushing defenses inthe pac-12 (125.9 ypg allowed by WSU). Like Cal, the Buffs must exploit Washington State's depleted depth at linebacker, where multiple starters are injured or less than 100 percent. So, the formula for beating WSU is simple - pressure Falk + run the football consistently + win turnover battle. If the Buffs succeed on all 3 fronts, will it be enough? Perhaps. But look for WSU to bounce back from one of the worst performances of the Mike Leach Era and win at home.

As indicated by Mike MacIntyre's high praisal of Luke Falk - comparing him to Tom Brady, he is easily one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Falk has the ability to stretch the field, and fit balls into tight windows. He also has excellent decision making instincts - not forcing certain throws that could turn into interceptions. Colorado's secondary isn't deep enough to have their inexperienced corners contain some of the best wideouts in the country for four quarters, especially when they have a quarterback of Falk's caliber to complement it.

Against the best rush defense they've faced all season, it's unlikely the Buffs can rely on the likes of Phil Lindsay to put the team on his back with another 30+ carry game - especially against a stacked Cougars defensive front. The struggles on the offensive line shouldn't help this. I also don't expect a Buffs receiving core that's struggled all season to sporadically have a breakout game on Saturday against the best secondary in the conference. Overall, I see Washington State getting back on track with a win - capitalizing on the Buffs weaknesses. Whenever a team is facing a quarterback like Falk, getting pressure on the quarterback and playing consistently tight coverage is amply important. Colorado has struggled to do both so far, and won't be able to juice out the same type of production from their run-first offense against a extremely talented Washington State defense.

I made this score prediction early in the week, and while I'm sticking with it, I'm starting to lean towards Colorado playing much better than the typical pessimistic Colorado fan thinks. After back-to-back embarrassing performances by the Colorado defense, I think that the Buffaloes will play one of their better games defensively. Do I have good reason to think that? Nope. It's just a gut feeling. The Buffs should be getting cornerback Trey Udoffia back, so that will certainly help.

The Buffs are No. 10 in the conference in sacks while the Cougars are tied for 2nd. The key to the game for me is which team protects the passer best. Colorado has to take a page out of Cal's game plan against the Cougars and pressure Falk into bad decisions and get him on the ground.