Gardner Minshew passed for 335 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score, and the Washington State Cougars beat the Colorado Buffaloes 31-7 in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

James Williams ran for 60 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12), who have won six straight. Washington State came into the weekend No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings and bolstered its case with a convincing win over the Buffaloes.

Laviska Shenault Jr. had 10 receptions for 102 yards in his return to the lineup for Colorado (5-5, 2-5) after missing four games with a foot injury. The Buffaloes have lost five in a row after a strong start.

Minshew finished 35-for-58 passing and ran for 26 more yards. His 58 passes were a season high.

Colorado got on the board first when Travon McMillian rumbled 64 yards to the Washington State 3-yard line, and then ran it in on the next play to make it 7-0 late in the first quarter.

McMillian had 73 yards rushing.

It was all Cougars after that. Down 7-3, Minshew connected with Colorado native Max Borghi on a 28-yard touchdown with 8:31 left in the second quarter as Washington State led 10-7 at halftime.

The Buffaloes got the first possession of the third quarter but McMillian fumbled on the second play of the drive to give the Cougars the ball at the Colorado 32. Washington State used seven plays, capped by Minshew's 1-yard touchdown pass to Renard Bell with 10:56 left.

After forcing a Colorado punt on its next possession, Minshew led an 11-play drive and made it 24-7 with a 10-yard run in which he got the ball just over the goal line before going out of bounds.

The Buffaloes had one last chance to get back into the game early in the fourth quarter. They drove to the Washington State 36 but after catching a 4-yard pass from Steven Montez, Shenault fumbled, and the Cougars recovered.

Williams scored on a 3-yard run to cap the day.

--Field Level Media