First look: WSU at Colorado

Here is staff writer Jacob Thorpe’s first look at Saturday’s game between Colorado and Washington State.

What is it: Two Pac-12 contenders will clash when Washington State (8-2, 7-0 Pac-12) visits Colorado (8-2, 6-1) in the regular season’s penultimate game.

Where is it: Folsom Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.

When is it: The game is slated to kick off at 12:30 p.m. PT.

Where can I watch it: The game will broadcast to a national audience on Fox.

Who is favored: The Buffaloes are 4-point favorites.

Why WSU will win: The Cougars have won their last eight games. They know how to win, and everything seems to be clicking on offense, defense and special teams.

Why CU will win: WSU has yet to face this good a defense, and after beating up on two bad teams at home the Cougars might have a tough time finding momentum against a good team on the road.

What happened last time? The Cougars won 27-3 in Pullman last year.

Three things to know …

1. The Buffaloes entered 2016 having won five total Pac-12 games since joining the conference. They have already exceeded that total in this year alone.

2. CU senior quarterback Sefo Liufau, who is from the Tacoma area, has thrown just three interceptions in 192 pass attempts this season.

3. Mike Leach has never coached the Cougars in Boulder, though he coached there when he at Texas Tech, since both schools were members of the Big 12 conference.