Washington State Cougars vs. Colorado Buffaloes Betting Odds, Football Pick

The Colorado Buffaloes, who are playing under the radar out in the Pac-12, are the best bet in college football so far this season at a nifty 9-1 against the spread. The Buffaloes will play as short favorites when they host a hot Washington State outfit for a big Pac-12 showdown on Saturday afternoon in Boulder.

Point spread: The Buffaloes opened as six-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 40.8-34.2 Buffaloes (CFB picks on every game)

Why the Washington State Cougars can cover the spread

Since opening this season with consecutive losses against Eastern Washington and Boise State, the Cougars have won eight games in a row and covered five of them after bombing Cal last week 56-21 and covering as 17-point favorites.

Washington State grabbed a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game last week on a 75-yard punt return for a score, led 14-0 after one quarter and 28-7 at the half. The Cougars later secured the cash by scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

On the day, WSU racked up 654 yards of offense, as quarterback Luke Falk threw for 373 yards and five touchdowns, three to wide receiver River Cracraft and two to Gabe Marks. Unfortunately, Cracraft suffered a knee injury and is out for the season.

Two weeks ago, Washington State ambushed Arizona, 69-7, covering as 16-point favorites. At 7-0 in conference play, the Cougars now lead the Pac-12 North by a game over second-place Washington and get the Huskies in Pullman for the Apple Cup in the season finale.

Why the Colorado Buffaloes can cover the spread

Colorado remained atop the Pac-12 South after beating Arizona itself last week, 49-24. The Buffs scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game but only led the Wildcats 14-10 midway through the second quarter. CU then used a 28-0 run to take control on its way toward the cover as a 17-point favorite on the road.

Arizona actually outgained the Buffaloes (412-388), but Colorado efficiently scored touchdowns on six of its first nine possessions on offense while stiffening at the right times on defense.

Two weeks ago, Colorado beat UCLA, 20-10; just before that, CU won at Stanford, 10-5; and just before that it beat Arizona State, 40-16. At 6-1 in conference play, the Buffs lead the South by a half-game over USC, although they don't own the tiebreaker on the Trojans and thus have to keep winning.

Smart pick

By the numbers, Colorado owns edges in the running game and on defense, but those numbers don't mean much when it comes to betting Washington State games. Mike Leach's Cougars do things a little differently.

They're also one of the hottest teams in the country, scoring 125 points over the last two weeks. WSU won this matchup last year, 27-3, and might not even need the points on the college football point spreads this week.

Betting trends

The visiting team is 5-1 ATS in its last six games in this matchup.

Colorado is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games.

Washington State is 12-4 ATS in its last 16 games against its conference.

All college football betting lines and point-spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.