Washington Huskies' opponent this week: Colorado

HUSKIES’ OPPONENT THIS WEEK

COLORADO (1-5 OVERALL, 0-2 PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE)

12:30 p.m., Husky Stadium, Seattle

TV: Root Sports (FSN Northwest) Radio: 950-AM

Coach: Jon Embree (1-5 in his first season)

Against the Huskies: These teams have met 11 times. Each has five victories and one game ended in a tie. The first meeting was back in 1915, while the most recent meeting was in 2000, when the Huskies, under former Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel, defeated the Buffaloes, 17-14, in Boulder. That Washington team would go on to play in the Rose Bowl.

Washington connections: Huskies wide receiver Devin Aguilar was a standout receiver at Mullen High School in Denver, but was not recruited by the Buffaloes. Three of his Mullen teammates – Brady Daigh, Shawn Daniels and Josh Ford – play for the Buffaloes. The Colorado coaching staff features a few connections. Defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo is the uncle to former Huskies players Marques and Zach Tuiasosopo, while receivers coach Bobby Kennedy was a coach at Washington under Neuheisel.

Scouting report: The Buffaloes’ first year in the Pac-12 has been brutal. And it seems like a very real possibility that Colorado may not win a league game, having squandered late leads in losses to California and Washington State at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes are in the midst of a bruising stretch in their schedule. After facing Stanford last week and getting Washington this week, the Buffaloes face Oregon, Arizona State and USC in the coming weeks. To make matters worse for Colorado, top receiver Paul Richardson is out after suffering a sprained knee in the loss to Washington State two weeks ago. Richardson didn’t play against Stanford and is questionable for Saturday. That leaves quarterback Taylor Hansen and running back Rodney Stewart to carry the offense. The two seniors are capable players for the Buffs. Hansen threw for more than 500 yards in the loss to California, while Stewart was a 1,000-yard rusher last season and is a pass-catching threat out of the backfield. But the Buffaloes rank 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense at 21.5 points per game. Defensively, they rank 11th in Pac-12 in scoring defense, giving up 33.3 points per game. The Buffaloes are also the most penalized team in the conference, averaging 81 yards per game in penalties. Head coach Jon Embree also had to suspend five players for violation of team rules in the days leading up to last week’s game. No announcement about the reinstatement of those players has been made.

Did you know: Embree is not only a native of Englewood, Colo., and a former CU standout, but he is also the first African-American head coach in the history of the Golden Buffaloes football program. Embree was a four-year letterman as a tight end for Colorado, he played in the NFL for the Rams and then suffered a career-ending elbow injury while playing for the Seahawks in 1989.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing, Att, Comp, Pct., Yards, TDs, INT

Taylor Hansen, 202, 113, 55.9, 1527, 12, 3

Rushing, Att, Yards, Avg., TD

Rodney Stewart, 109, 431, 3.95, 1

Receiving, Rec, Yards, Avg., TD

Paul Richardson, 30, 488, 16.3, 5
Rodney Stewart, 26, 417, 16.0, 0
Toney Clemons, 14, 155, 11.1, 3

Punting, Punts, Avg, Blk

Darragh O'Neill, 32, 44.1, 0

Field goals, Att, Made, Lg

Will Oliver, 11, 8, 52

2011 SCHEDULE

Sept. 3: lost to Hawaii, 34-17
Sept. 10: lost to Cal, 36-33
Sept. 17: def. Colorado St., 28-14
Sept. 24: lost at Ohio State, 37-17
Oct. 1: lost to Wash. St.*, 31-27
*Oct. 8: lost at Stanford*, 48-7
Saturday: at Washington*
Oct. 22: Oregon*
Oct. 29: at Arizona State*
Nov. 5: USC*
Nov. 12: Arizona*
Nov. 19: at UCLA*
Nov. 25: at Utah*

* – Conference game

Ryan Divish, staff writer