Cougars in a classic letdown spot as big favorites vs. Colorado

Wide receiver Gabe Marks and the Cougars are 15 1/2 point favorites Saturday night against Colorado. (AP)

Washington State’s remarkable season continues Saturday night at Martin Stadium with a 7:45 kickoff against Colorado. The pre-game show begins at 5:30 on 710 ESPN Seattle.

If the Cougars beat the Buffaloes, Washington in the Apple Cup and their opponent in the bowl game, they’ll finish with 10 wins, or one more than Paul Wulff had in four years as coach, compiling a 9-40 record from 2008-2011.

There have been so many unexpected victories that it’s hard to pick a favorite from the last-minute rallies against Rutgers, Oregon and UCLA, the last-quarter rally against ASU or the dominating road win at Arizona.

Luke Falk has justifiably become a darkhorse as a Heisman Trophy candidate, and Mike Leach should be named Pac-12 coach of the year. The receivers have been fantastic and so has the offensive line. Plus it’s been fun to watch the growth of the defense, and we’ve even eliminated special-teams screw-ups.

We’ve covered the pointspread in six straight games and are one missed field goal away from having a six-game winning streak and holding the North Division lead.

So why am I nervous about this Colorado game? I shouldn’t be. The Buffs have lost six of their last seven games, beating only Oregon State.

Part of it’s the timing of the game. Most of the students will be long gone, vacating Pullman for the week-long Thanksgiving break, diluting the home-field advantage.

The 7:45 p.m. kickoff might deter other fans from coming, and temperatures in the 20s won’t help either. Those shouldn’t be factors in attendance with a 7-3 team, but I’m guessing they are anyway.

I’m also concerned about this being a so-called “sandwich” game, played between an emotional win over UCLA and the rivalry game next week at Husky Stadium.

It’s a classic letdown spot, and the Cougs are in an unfamiliar position of being heavy favorites – Colorado’s a 15 ½-point underdog.

Plus the Buffs aren’t half-bad, particularly on defense, ranking sixth overall in the Pac-12 and second against the pass. Colorado has 12 interceptions, three by Jered Bell. The Buffaloes also have a good pass rush – Derek McCartney and Jimmie Gilbert have five sacks each.

Starting quarterback Sefo Liufau got hurt early in a 27-24 loss to USC, but backup QB Cade Apsay replaced him and completed 25 of 34 for 199 yards. The school’s leading receiver, Nelson Spruce, has 74 receptions this year and is averaging 11 yards per catch.

I’ve watched the Buffs a few times and they’re not nearly the sorry team they used to be. A few weeks ago they almost beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl, holding a three-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing 35-31.

I’m also concerned – as fans anyway – that we might be getting a little too far ahead of ourselves with bowl-game speculation, many of us already counting Colorado as our eighth win before we play the game.

And if I’m going to continue with this worried theme, I think back to Leach’s first year when we had a big fourth-quarter lead against Colorado only to lose the game in the final seconds when the Buffs perfectly executed a fourth-down QB draw.

Then again, this is a different Cougar team, one of our most talented in more than a decade. I’m thinking the superior team will ultimately win, but it figures to be tight to the frigid finish.

Line: Cougars by 15 ½.
Prediction: Cougs 34, Buffaloes 31
Season record against the spread: 6-3-1.

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.