Campus Clash

(19) Colorado Buffaloes at (10) Oregon Ducks 

Colorado: They have been the talk of our sport and for obvious reasons. Deion Sanders is football royalty, so wherever he is, he will generate any type of coverage. Can people give this man his credit now? This is a good football coach, but more importantly, I love the leader of young men that he is. Ever since that huge win on the road in Fort Worth against the TCU Horned Frogs, He wants them to believe and instills in them that they can hang with anyone on the football field. After all, that is a coach’s job, right? What I’ve always admired about Prime is he’s always done it his way and won’t copy anyone. Many said no matter how many games they win this season, it’s a huge improvement compared to last season. Remember, Prime inherited a program that won only one game in 2022. Right now, after three games, the Colorado Buffaloes are 3-0 and have won two more games this year than they did a year ago. Their offense starts with the Quarterback and that’s Shedeur Sanders. What I enjoy watching about this kid is he’s never phased or rattled by what a defense throws at him. You could bring the house (a blitz) and he’ll still get that football out his hands. This is a playmaker if I ever saw one and people didn’t think he could do this at a D1 institution. Stop doubting him and when I watch him play, he has that chip on his shoulder. Now, there are two issues Colorado has as a football team. The first is they can’t consistently run the football and they don’t get the push up front to run the ball meaning they don’t control the line of scrimmage. The other issue is they can’t stop the run. I think back to that TCU game and anytime the Frogs moved the ball, it was on the ground. They had to survive a wild game against Colorado State on Saturday. Week four is here and they will get a taste of conference play in Eugene on Saturday afternoon.

Oregon: They absolutely demolished Portland State in their first game. What concerned me was their second game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders because they were in trouble heading into the fourth quarter of that contest. However, it’s about how you finish and they were able to score 20 points in the quarter en route to a 38-30 win in Lubbock. Against Hawaii, they jumped out to a 34-3 victory and never looked back. I said this on College Football Showdown with Israel Rivera and I can say it here as well. I could see Dan Lanning and these Oregon Ducks being the “TCU of this year” and what I mean by that is they can come out of left field and really surprise some people. I think Bo Nix needed that change of scenery because since he’s left Auburn, he’s been a different, yet better Quarterback. I see a more confident guy that feels he can complete each pass he throws and it doesn’t matter who the receiver is, if you’re open, he’s going to find you the football. This Ducks offense is one of the best in the country as they average 579 yards per contest which is fourth in the country. When Dan took this job, I immediately thought of the defense and how he’d turn them around. Last year, they struggled and that’s because he didn’t have many of his recruits. A year later, Oregon has given up only 15.7 points per contest which is a huge improvement compared to last year. We could be seeing something in Eugene. On Saturday, they welcome Coach Prime and his Colorado Buffaloes to town for a week four showdown.

Colorado X-Factor: Xavier Weaver– I was so impressed with him in that opening game in Fort Worth and he’s been such a complementary asset to this offense. Xavier can run those routes over the middle and make the tough, contested catches in traffic and he can get down the field and make a play in between a double team. Before transferring to Colorado, Xavier played for South Florida where he was all-AAC a season ago.

Oregon X-Factor: Noah Whittington: He’s been a big part of the offensive success for this team so far. Noah is that shifty runner out the backfield that can run in between the tackles and bounce outside. He’s also another weapon in the passing game for Nix as he can force those mismatches and make catches to move the chains. Along with Jordan James, they form a Running Back tandem that many don’t speak on. Look how they attacked Hawaii in week three. A combined 141 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Three Things I’m Watching

1. No Travis– It’s no secret that Travis Hunter has been Colorado’s best player this year. This young man has done it on both sides of the football as a receiver then on the defensive side as a cornerback. He will miss the next few games due to a laceration on his spleen. This is where I see Prime really preaching the “next man up” mindset. This won’t be easy to replace this guy and the versatility he brings on the field.

2. Ducks Defense vs Shedeur– I want to see how the Ducks will attempt to shake up Shedeur. TCU would flush him to his weak side (left) and he still got the ball off. I expect Dan to dial up a ton of exotic stunts and looks up front on that Oregon defensive front. Watch for a few delayed blitzes which is when they send a man just as the football is snap. Usually, it’s a safety that’s normally being sent.

3. Conference Debut– Prime won his first game as Head Coach of Colorado and he’s won his first two home games. Now, the meat and potatoes of their schedule is about to begin which is conference play and this is the start of a tough two game stretch. Oregon this Saturday, then next Saturday, they will welcome the USC Trojans to town who just happen to have the reigning Heisman winner in Caleb Williams.

Final Analysis: This is one of many games I will of course be paying attention too this weekend across the nation. Eugene is one of the toughest places for a visiting team to come and play at and I expect this crowd to be locked in and ready for this contest. I need to see Colorado be ready to throw the first punch and most importantly, take this crowd out the game. Starting quickly will be huge for them because they can’t afford to get down early to this team. When Oregon has you down, they keep you down (for the most part). If I’m Oregon, on offense, run the ball and I’d keep doing it until they can stop it. On defense, I’d pressure Shedeur up the middle and force him to throw the football off his back foot. Make him work to get those yards instead of him picking apart defenses comfortably from the pocket. This will be the best team Colorado has seen all year so far. I like the Ducks to get a conference win on Saturday.

Prediction: Oregon 45, Colorado 27