Liufau scores 3 TDs, No. 12 Colorado beats No. 20 Wash State

With Utah’s stunning loss to OR earlier in the day, the South race has come down to CU (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12 South) and USC (7-3, 6-2). Combine that with the fact that there are two Big Ten and two ACC teams in front of it, and that No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 MI still have to play each other, there’s a very good chance that a 12-1 Pac-12 champion would be able to get back to the top four.

The Big Game is the one Pac-12 rivalry contest I would like to witness someday, while having no ties to either school.

“I just thought we were incohesive as far as doing our jobs”, WSU coach Mike Leach said. “Same thing happened on offense, it just manifested itself differently”.

They also have the efficient Luke Falk at quarterback.

Luke Falk threw for 325 yards and three scores for Washington State (8-3, 7-1, No. 22 CFP), which had won eight in a row.

They didn’t get it done in Colorado, but none of that will matter if they get it done next week. The Mountaineers are 88th in the nation in pass defense. The rest of the defense added an additional six.

After that crucial stop, the offense leveled the game back with a Liufau running touchdown coming off of three consecutive runs in the red zone. Colorado, Liufau 27-41-0-345. He threw for 405 yards and a touchdown, but his three interceptions cost the Huskies the game.

“He played excellent”, MacIntyre said.

And it’s come under the electric play of Liufau, a guy who’s getting his payout after a career of injuries, tough luck, and losses.

The Buffaloes and Cougars played a pretty even first half.

-Will Worth, Navy, rushed for 159 yards and four TDs in a 66-31 win over East Carolina. Shalom Luani is a particular nuisance to opposing OCs given his sense for opportunity in the passing game and his strong support in rush defense.

His performance put him over the 1,000-yard mark on the year. Offensively they scored the last 17 points of the game to pull away.

Rarefied air: Colorado has not started a season 8-2 since it started 10-2 in its 2001 Fiesta Bowl season. But with Christian McCaffrey back to health, Bryce Love emerging, and a confidence-building game at the back of QB Keller Chryst, the prospects look dim for Cal.

But sophomore defensive back Nick Fisher answered the call. Not the Stanford band, at least, which was suspended from performing at road games due to its rowdy reputation. He finished second on the team with six tackles.

There are several crunch plays in a game that dictate the result. The teams don’t play until next week. “We’ve come a long way”, Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. You saw how many times we got behind (CU’s secondary), how many times we dropped the ball and how many times we barely missed.

The Buffaloes deferred the opening coin toss and received to begin the second half. Liufau had his third rushing touchdown of the day (an 11-yard score), Colorado kicker Chris Graham nailed a 46-yard field goal and Lindsay punctuated Colorado’s late surge with a 13-yard rushing touchdown that gave Colorado a 38-24 lead with 4:18 remaining.

A hip pointer wasn’t going to sideline him in the fourth quarter. WSU’s Kyle Sweet popped up his punt; it traveled 1 yard, giving the Buffs possession at the Cougars’ 48-yard line.

For both of these elated teams, that’s good advice.

“So when it comes time to take the test, you see questions on the test and you’re like, ‘I know that.’ It’s easy, nearly second nature”.

“I don’t get those (nerves) anymore because I’m prepared enough and confident enough in my ability”, Colorado safety Ryan Moeller said.

Falk and the Cougars’ offense were driving down the field. Falk has completed a career high 73.9 percent of his passes this season and sits at second in the NCAA in passing yards behind Texas Tech junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Wazzu opted to go for it on fourth. “Coach always talks about starring in your role”. “Tonight, my team needed me to step up, and I tried to do that for them“.

The Rise is so real that it has become undeniable, but I think a big loss to a team like Bama would actually do more damage than it would do good.

Arizona State’s defense will present “unique” issues, Smith said, when the Sun Devils (5-5, 2-5 Pac-12) visit Husky Stadium on Saturday (4:30 p.m., FOX).