Colorado vs Washington State: Highlights, score and recap

The stunning season for the No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes continued with a 38-24 win against the No. 22 Washington State Cougars on Saturday.

Just two years after going 2-10, the No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes are on the brink of a Pac-12 South championship following their 38-24 win over the No. 22 Washington State Cougars on Saturday at Folsom Field.

The stingy Colorado defense won its matchup with Washington State’s explosive offense early on, forcing Luke Falk into three straight incompletions to begin the game. Phillip Lindsay marched the Buffaloes right down the field on their opening drive and capped things off with a nine-yard touchdown run.

Washington State didn’t take long to respond with a nine-play, 78-yard drive. After dropping a sure long touchdown earlier, Robert Lewis reeled in a 14-yard pass to tie things up midway through the first.

To make matters worse, starting Colorado safety Afoldbi Laguda was ejected for targeting on the play. The Cougars took advantage two drives later on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Falk to running back Jamal Morrow to go up 14-7 near the end of the first.

Washington State missed a chance to really open things up with another key drop, this time by the sure-handed Gabe Marks. Despite facing constant pressure, Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau then engineered a 10-play drive and tied things up midway through the second on a three-yard run.

A long Cougars drive stalled with a field goal to make the score 17-14, while Colorado missed its own attempt to close out the half. Drops hurt Washington State in the first half, but it still held the lead behind strong efforts at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Things really opened up in the third quarter, as the two teams moved the ball up and down the field and were finally able to execute in the red zone. Falk found John Thompson on a six-yard score for his third touchdown of the day, but two more runs from Liufau gave Colorado a 28-24 lead at the end of three.

Colorado came up with a huge defensive play to start the fourth on backup safety Nick Fisher’s tackle to stop Washington State a yard short on fourth and four deep in Buffaloes territory. While backup kicker Chris Graham then nailed a 46-yard field goal to put Colorado up a touchdown with 9:09 left, Liufau was taken to the locker room earlier in the drive with an apparent injury.

The Cougars quickly went three-and-out thanks to the first Colorado sack of the day. With Liufau back under center, the Buffaloes drove down the field and went up 38-24 on Lindsay’s 13-yard touchdown, the first real separation for either team down the day.

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Falk fumbled on Washington State’s next drive to close out the 38-24 Colorado win and snap the Cougars’ eight-game winning streak. Colorado’s defense did a great job of tackling in the open field and limiting yards after catch on short Washington State passes. While the Cougars were able to somewhat limit Lindsay after the first drive and generated good pass rush, Liufau’s heroic 450 yard effort led the Buffaloes to their biggest win in several years.

Three Stars

3. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Colorado. Racked up 144 yards and two touchdowns, one which opened the scoring and another to put the game out of reach late.

2. Tedric Thompson, DB, Colorado. Led the terrific team effort against the prolific Washington State passing offense, helping limit Falk to a completion percentage under 50.

1. Sefo Liufau, QB, Colorado. Was a one-man show on offense in the second and third quarter, finishing with 345 passing yards, 108 rushing yards and three touchdowns. 

Full highlights

".@RunRalphieRun strikes first! Phillip Lindsay is off to a great start. #WSUvsCU https://t.co/oX7uFfDEZi— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 19, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!! Falk finds Lewis to tie the game 7-7. #GoCougs https://t.co/eJJ4aC8lBF— WSU Cougar Football (@wsucougfb) November 19, 2016"

"Luke Falk is out here throwing strikes! #WSUvsCU https://t.co/wOS6X7zQZl— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 19, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN | Sefo shows off some muscle and powers his way in for the TD! Game tied 14-14 #beatWSU #TheRise https://t.co/3ywF3aEeSi— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) November 19, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN | Sefo putting in some serious muscle today #beatWSU #TheRise https://t.co/TVd6EGyhBO— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) November 19, 2016"

"Falk finds Thompson for another WSU TOUCHDOWN!! Cougs lead 24-21. #GoCougs https://t.co/gcOqmpQ264— WSU Cougars (@WSUCougars) November 19, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN | Sefo using his legs today for his third TD…Buffs up 28-24#beatWSU #TheRise https://t.co/xscOZ138HM— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) November 19, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN | Sefo and Phil just just passing the TD’s around today #beatWSU #TheRise https://t.co/lLGHQtoLL8— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) November 20, 2016"

Up next

Washington State will still play for the Pac-12 North title next Friday when they host the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup. Colorado will win the Pac-12 South with a home victory against Utah.