PLAYERS TO WATCH
–WR K.D. Nixon appeared to be the man to pick up the slack at wide receiver for the Buffs with Laviska Shenault Jr. out with an injury. The sophomore caught 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Oregon State and punched in the first score of the game against Arizona. But Nixon injured his hip on the play and was forced to exit the contest with 15 all-purpose yards. Colorado lists him as day-to-day versus Washington State.
–WR Juwann Winfree was the benefactor of a decimated Buffs wide receiver corps that also lost Jay MacIntyre to injury against Arizona. The junior, who missed five games this year to an ankle injury, grabbed eight catches for the 101 yards, the second 100-yard effort of his career and first since going for 163 yards and two touchdowns against Southern California in 2017.
–SS Derrion Rakestraw made the most of increased playing time with Evan Worthington in concussion protocol. The sophomore tied with teammate Rick Gamboa with nine tackles against Arizona while picking up his first career interception.
–OLB Carson Wells notched a pair of sacks against Arizona, giving him three in his last two games. The redshirt freshman has added nice depth behind Drew Lewis at outside linebacker with 19 tackles, 4.5 of them for a loss.
SERIES HISTORY: Colorado holds a 6-5 advantage over Washington State in a series that dates to the 1981 season. The Buffs and Cougars have swapped wins in each of the last eight meetings. Washington State shut out Colorado 24-0 last year. The game on Saturday is the 499th played at Folsom Field, with No. 500 closing out the regular season against rival Utah.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s been tough. We set the expectations high, we played really well. I cannot control game-day injuries. We’ve had one injury in practice (all season), that was a tweaked calf. We’ve practiced well; we’ve done well; we’ve just had a rash of injuries. That makes it tough when you’re playing really good football teams and you have key players go down. But as I’ve always said, nobody cares. You still have to find a way to win.” –Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre on the Buffs’ four game losing streak
