Adam Jude

The Seattle Times

There will be no sympathy from the Huskies.

Colorado comes to Husky Stadium for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday (for a FOX national broadcast) against No. 15 Washington, the second leg in a brutal back-to-back road swing for the Buffaloes (5-1, 2-1). Last weekend, Colorado was handed its first defeat in a 31-20 loss at USC in a game that didn’t end until 11:27 p.m. last Saturday in Los Angeles.

The Huskies (5-2, 3-1) can relate to the travel demands, having spent the past two weeks on the road, and losing their first Pac-12 game to Oregon in overtime last Saturday (with the Ducks coming off a bye).

The Huskies, no doubt, are glad to be back home as they try to keep pace in the crowded Pac-12 North race. Husky Stadium has been sold out for UW’s last two home games, victories over Arizona State and BYU, and the Huskies will play three of their final five regular-season games in Seattle.

“That’s always a fun place to play,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said, “and of course an excellent football team.”

Saturday’s game is the third between the two programs in the past 22 months. The Huskies used a third-quarter surge to run away from Colorado to win the 2016 Pac-12 championship game, 41-10; similarly, UW pulled away in the second half in Boulder last year, 37-10.

The Huskies are 6-0 against Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12, each win coming by at least 15 points. UW comes into this matchup as a 17-point favorite.

“We know those guys pretty well and the job Coach MacIntyre does. They’re impressive,” UW coach Chris Petersen said. “They play hard. They’ve got good players. They don’t flinch. They have a loss, but that’s not going to bother them. They’re going to come back hungry as ever.”

Colorado has one of the more productive offenses in the Pac-12, averaging 34.8 points per game. Using a quick-strike passing attack that features short and intermediate throws on the perimeter, junior quarterback Steven Montez is completing 70.5 percent of his passes, tops in the conference, with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Sophomore receiver Laviska Shenault has been the breakout star in the Pac-12 this season, leading the nation in receiving and vaulting into the Heisman Trophy conversation. He has 11 total touchdowns in six games, and five of those have come when he’s been used as a Wildcat running back.

Shenault injured his toe against USC and sat out the fourth quarter of that game. He is questionable for Saturday.

“We’re just taking it day to day … and hopefully he’ll be ready to go,” MacIntyre said Tuesday.

The Huskies have had mixed results against the Pac-12’s top receivers. Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry had a season-low 20 yards receiving, on five catches, at Husky Stadium last month. But Oregon’s Dillon Mitchell broke loose with eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown against the Huskies last week.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Shenault has been better than both this season.

“He’s an excellent player,” Petersen said. “He’s one of the better players in this league, without question.”