No. 19 Colorado has been the story of the early college football season and the Buffs open Pac-12 play on Saturday at No. 10 and fellow unbeaten Oregon.
Colorado @ Oregon (Saturday, Sep 23 2023 3:45pm)
Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Short of a matchup in the 2023 Pac-12 title game, Saturday could be the last time in many years that Colorado and Oregon play with the Buffaloes off to the Big 12 next year and the Ducks to the Big Ten. One could easily make an argument that the Pac-12 has been the nation’s strongest conference in the early going with not just these two ranked and unbeaten but also No. 5 USC, No. 8 Washington, No. 11 Utah, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 21 Washington State and No. 22 UCLA.
There are no Pac-12 divisions so not every team will play one another in the regular season. Of those schools listed above, Colorado only avoids Washington. Oregon misses UCLA. Last year, Oregon stomped Colorado 49-10 in Boulder but those Buffs were one of the worst teams in the nation and finished with one victory. Ducks star QB Bo Nix threw for two scores and rushed for two.
Oregon owns a 15-9 lead in the all-time series with Colorado, winning three in a row.
Colorado Buffaloes
One reason the Buffaloes have been so good is that Coach Deion Sanders lured several of his best players from Jackson State, including his two best ones in quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, and cornerback/receiver two-way star Travis Hunter. Both have been electric with Shedeur, a legit Heisman candidate, possibly playing his way into the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft if he declares; barring injury, Hunter will be a Top 10 pick at worst in the 2025 draft.
However, he will miss this game and perhaps a few more due to a reported lacerated liver suffered on a late hit in Saturday’s overtime win over Colorado State. The Buffs trailed the Rams by 11 in the fourth quarter, but Shedeur Sanders led the offence on a 98-yard scoring drive to tie the game with 36 seconds remaining in regulation and CU won in double OT. Many books had CU at over-under 3.5 wins all season and it already has three.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon clearly made the right hire in landing Dan Lanning as its head coach after Mario Cristobal left for Miami late in the 2021 season. The program is arguably in better shape now under Lanning, the former Georgia defensive coordinator, and is headed for the Big Ten’s riches in 2024. The Ducks reached the Pac-12 title game last season and this writer expects a return this winter.
QB Bo Nix is among the Heisman Trophy favourites, having completed 77.6% of his passes for 893 yards, eight TDs and zero interceptions. Nix hasn’t run the ball nearly as much this year as last, but the Ducks haven’t needed him to against overmatched non-conference opponents. Oregon is No. 2 nationally in scoring at 58.0 ppg, has won 15 straight games when leading after the first quarter, 17th straight when scoring first and 29 in a row when scoring at least 40. Oregon is one of just two teams in the nation (Penn State) yet to commit a turnover this season and leads the Pac-12 in pass defence (158.7 ypg).
