Washington and Colorado will meet on saturday night to decide who is better, and they will renew a rivalry from the 90s that we once thought was lost because both teams fell into the doldrums. Colorado is improving even though they are unranked, and Washington is one of the best teams in the county. Can Washington make their way to the college football playoff, or can Colorado ruin their season with a win tonight? College football is better when both teams are relevant, and that is why it is important for us to watch this game to see the Buffaloes perhaps make a statement that puts them back on the college football map.
Who has the edge?
Clearly, Washington is the better team, but Colorado has not had a start like this in a long time. Colorado has always had a hard time playing well all season, and they tend to fall apart in the middle of the conference schedule. Beating Washington would be an amazing thing for this club, and they might be able to use that momentum to change the way that they are playing late in the season. Washington would be in a very poor position to get into the College Football Playoff if USC can keep playing well, and it would be interesting to see who takes Washington's spot.
Washington's talent
Washington has more talent on both sides of the ball, and they have proven over the last couple years that the talent gap is actually quite large in this conference.
USC will get its players and Stanford will be good, but Washington is clearly getting the best players every year. They are able to recruit guys to come live in cold and rainy Seattle to play football, and it is becoming a very good training ground for players who want to go to the NFL.
What if Washington loses?
If Washington loses, we need to look to USC to carry the Pac 12 into the College Football Playoff.
The playoff might be able to exclude the conference altogether if Michigan can stay unbeaten, if Clemson can run through the ACC, and if Oklahoma remains great. The PAC 12 has been represented up to this point, but they would lose their spot if they cannot keep up with the expectations of the voters. We wanted to see the Huskies in the playoff, and that cannot happen if they lose to Colorado.
It would take a long string of bad losses from other teams to give Washington new life, and that is not likely to happen.
Washington has to have this win, but Colorado needs it much more. Rebuilding their program requires signature wins over good teams.
