Gritty Sefo Liufau leads No. 9 Colorado into Pac-12 title game

That domino effect has a quick turnaround, with only a week between the Army-Navy game and the December 17 kickoff of bowl season.

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Huskies are 7.5-point favorites versus the Buffaloes after opening as a 6-point favorite earlier in the week.

THOMPSON HONORED: CU senior safety Tedric Thompson was named Monday as the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the ninth time this season a Colorado player has been honored by the conference. This unit picked off the highly-talented Luke Falk three times last week so Colorado needs to continue being careful with the ball. If the Big Ten gets two teams in, it’ll come down to Washington and Clemson, assuming the Tigers win the ACC (Alabama, even if it loses to Florida in the SEC championship game, is a lock for the semifinals, or so you’d think).

The Utes lost three of their last four games, making for yet another frustrating season. He completed 23 of 44 passes for 270 yards and a score.

The Buffaloes prefer to move the chains via the run. An 1,100-yard rusher with 10 touchdowns, Gaskin has the production to match his explosiveness.

Key stat: The Wildcats ran over the Sun Devils with a school-record 511 rushing yards. He’s caught over 40 passes. Wide receiver Dante Pettis has 14 touchdown receptions.

“They’re a very good football team, obviously, with what they’ve accomplished and what Jake’s done”, Tumpkin said. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, are all teams that could have a legitimate chance to slip past the Huskies.

One oddity about the Huskies’ season: They didn’t play a single game on grass during the regular season.

That’s the mantra of this Colorado Buffaloes football team as they’ve completed one of the most incredible turnarounds in college football.

Washington’s poor non-conference strength of schedule (Rutgers, Idaho, Portland State) could come into play when the selection committee makes its decisions, but first there is the matter of finding a way to beat a veteran, balanced Colorado squad. The Huskies’ 16 interceptions are tied for 10th in the country. Also, opponents in those bowls wouldn’t know whom they were playing and then there are the obvious logistic and financial issues involved with waiting another seven days before planning travel, buying tickets and other factors.

Defensively, the Huskies have been stout throughout the whole season. Ranked 17th in the nation, the Huskies’ “Death Row” defense is a fierce, balanced unit.

The Buffaloes are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The North champ is 5-0 in the league title game. Another 10-win season is in the forecast for a team that was once 4-3. The over is 8-3 in Colorado’s last 11 conference games.

The Huskies have won six consecutive meetings against Colorado, the last coming in 2014 in Boulder, 38-23. That should open the Huskies secondary up for some plays down the field. It will likely be their toughest challenge yet, but they have a great quarterback to rely on in Jake Browning and a stout defense as well. I can see him throwing for 250 yards and two or three touchdowns. If Washington wins, convincingly, the Huskies should have enough on their resume with wins over Stanford, and Washington State, as well as winning the PAC-12, to get them into the 4-team College Football Playoff.

He threw for 2,633 yards and USC freshman record 26 touchdowns with a 68 percent completion rate and eight passes intercepted.