CU Buffs opponent breakdown: Deion Sanders and company face reeling Washington State team

Deion Sanders and Colorado have found a team with a longer losing streak in the Pac-12 than their own.

The Buffaloes head to the Palouse this week for a Friday night showdown against a Washington State squad that is in the midst of a six-game losing streak that followed a 4-0 start for the Cougars, which makes Coach Prime’s four-game losing streak after a 4-2 start seem not so bad.

Bowl eligibility is still a possibility for CU in Sanders’ first season, but the Buffs will have to win their final two games on the road, starting this week, when they’re a four-point underdog against Wazzu.

As Coach Prime said after Saturday’s 34-31 loss to No. 23 Arizona on a walk-off field goal, they need to find a way to get over the hump in these close games, something they were able to do early in the season but have struggled to do recently.

Here’s what to expect with this week’s opponent:

Offense

Expect to see much of the same style of offense, regardless of which team is on the field this week.

Like the Buffs, the Cougars are a pass-heavy team and rely on their clear strengths — their former FCS quarterback and talented wide receivers. Cam Ward is in his second season as the QB at Wazzu and has put up big numbers again this fall, ranking fourth in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game (two spots behind Shedeur Sanders) and fifth in touchdowns (one spot behind Sanders).

Like Sanders, Ward has done a good job taking care of the ball with just five interceptions in 10 games, but he has also been the victim of poor offensive line play, as WSU ranks 112th in the nation in sacks allowed.

Ward likes to spread the ball around to three key receivers.

Lincoln Victor is the headliner, averaging just over 80 yards per game. He began his season with a big performance — 11 catches for 168 yards — against Colorado State. Kyle Williams and Josh Kelly are also averaging over 68 yards per game. The trio have combined for 15 touchdowns on the year.

On the ground, the Cougs have struggled to get anything going. They’ve rushed for over 100 yards as a team just three times and one of them came against winless FCS opponent Northern Colorado.

Redshirt senior Nakia Watson leads the team in rushing yards this season, but he was limited to just two carries last week against Cal as true freshman Leo Pulalasi ran for 66 yards on 11 carries provided a boost in just his second career game.

Defense

Wazzu ranks eighth in the conference in both scoring defense and total defense.

It’s a unit that has really struggled in the last two months, allowing at least 38 points in four of the last five games with the one outlier being the 10-7 loss to Stanford two weeks ago.

Only CU and USC have allowed more rushing yards per game, as the Cougs rank 102nd in the country in tackles for loss.

There are a few key players to watch as redshirt senior edge rusher Brennan Jackson leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks with 9.5 and 6.5, respectively. The team’s other veteran edge rusher, Ron Stone Jr., is also capable of making big plays with his seven tackles for loss.

It is a group in the bottom third of the country in takeaways — and the Buffs are already a team that does a good job of avoiding turnovers.

The Washington State file

Record: 4-6 (1-6 Pac-12)

Head coach: Jake Dickert (2nd season)

Offensive coordinator: Ben Arbuckle (1st season)

Defensive coordinator: Jeff Schmedding (1st season)

Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. (FS1)

Betting line: Colorado +4 (SuperBook Colorado)