Week 9 of the college football season is set to begin in just a few days, and the University of Colorado Buffaloes will be resting at home during their only bye week of the year. With only four games left in the regular season, the Buffaloes and their fans have a lot of interesting games to watch in the Pac-12 this week. Here is a breakdown of all of the key conference games being played on this weekend.
The Pac-12 gets the Week 9 action started when the California Golden Bears head on the road to take on the USC Trojans this Thursday. USC is currently only one game behind Utah and Colorado in the Pac-12 South Division standings. Since USC defeated Colorado earlier this year, the Buffaloes have to be rooting for the Golden Bears. One slip up by the Buffaloes and they will fall all the way to third place in their division. California has put together a solid season this year, so they will have a great shot to pull off the upset on Thursday night.
The most important game in the Pac-12 will be played on Saturday afternoon when the Washington Huskies play on the road against the Utah Utes. They are each sitting atop their respective division in the Pac-12 standings. Since Colorado is in the South Division with Utah, fans of the Buffaloes have to hope for a win by the Huskies. If the Utes lose on Saturday, then Colorado will no longer be tied with Utah at the top of the division. All the Buffaloes would need to do to head to the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game is finish the season with four more wins.
The final intriguing Pac-12 game this week for fans of the Colorado Buffaloes is the matchup between the Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers. While both of these teams play in the North Division, the outcome of this game can still alter Colorado’s season. Washington State still has a perfect record in the Pac-12 this year. If Colorado manages to make the Pac-12 Championship Game, then they would much rather face Washington State than the Washington Huskies, led by Fulsom, California native and Heisman hopeful Jake Browning.
Since the Cougars have a game with the Colorado Buffaloes later this season, the only way the teams can face off in the championship game is if Washington State wins all of their other conference games. This would set up a great game between Washington and Washington State during the last week of the regular season. If the Cougars enter that game with only one loss in the conference, then they can steal the North Division away from the Huskies with an upset win. Oregon State has struggled to compete with top teams all year, so this should be an easy win for the Washington State Cougars.
