Polumbus: Colorado vs. Washington — a Pac-12 title preview

The greatest feel-good story in college football isn’t over yet, as the No. 8 Colorado Buffaloes prepare to face the No. 5Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Conference Championship on Friday.

Colorado enters this game 10-2 after finishing last season with a 4-9 record. It is the best year turnaround from one year to the next in Pac-12 history, earning head coach Mike MacIntyre not only the Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors but also the Walter Camp Coach of the Year, given to the nation’s top play caller.

Win this game, and the Buffaloes have a long shot of making the College Football Playoff. Regardless of a berth to play for a national championship, however, a win means the Buffs will play in the Rose Bowl, a postseason destination that could only be described as complete fantasy when the season began.

Washington comes into this game at 11-1 and has a true Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Jake Browning. They are also coming off a beat down against a very good Washington State football team 45-17.

The Buffaloes also beat WSU, albeit in a much less dominating fashion, and the Apple Cup’s final score brings awareness of how powerful Washington really is.

Huskies facts to know

• Browning is in every conversation for the Heisman Trophy after finishing the regular season with 3,162 yards passing and 40 touchdowns.

• Running back Myles Gaskin keeps the Huskies extremely well balanced offensively, as he has rushed for 1,180 yards and 10 touchdowns.

• Washington is banged up on defense, and Colorado will have to take advantage of this to keep up with the scoring pace needed to win.

• Washington’s only loss on the season is to USC, a team that also beat Colorado.

Buffaloes facts to know

• This is Colorado’s first conference championship game since 2005 and first postseason appearance since 2007

• Although Colorado finished 10-2 on the season, they only have two first-team All-Pac-12 players, linebacker Jimmie Gilbert and safety Ryan Moeller.

• Quarterback Sefo Liufau’s stats do not tell the full story of what he brought to this team, but they are strong. He has thrown for 2,150 yards and added another 483 yards on the ground, even though he missed multiple games this year

• Colorado will wear all white jerseys and white helmets

Colorado keys to victory

I have yet to read a national writer that has picked the Buffaloes to upset the Huskies, but that certainly does not bother the boys in Boulder.

Both Liufao and defensive back Tedric Thompson spoke about the fact that the media was never behind this team anyway. They were not supposed to be here, so this game is nothing new.

In order to pull off the upset, the Buffaloes will have to finish better inside the red zone. In college football, high scores are the norm, and last week the Buffaloes settled for three points inside the red zone twice. They will need seven every time they get down there to keep up with Browning.

They will also have to have a ferocious pass rush to get after Browning and slow down his Heisman run. They need to get him off his spot, and they will rely heavily on Gilbert to get after Browning. If CU can get to him early, they will disrupt his rhythm and timing and, hopefully, slow this guy down.

Lastly, they will need a much stronger performance out of their special teams unit. Special teams has been the only Achilles heel for Colorado all year, and last week against Utah was no different.

Its punt team yielded multiple touchdowns throughout the year, and the kicking game has been erratic. Both special teams units will need to play big to control field position and never lose an opportunity to get points on the board.

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