Coming off a disappointing loss in Ann Arbor, the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team will get another chance to score an upset on the road this Saturday as they take on the Oregon Ducks. The match-up in Eugene will kickoff Conference play for the two Pac-12 teams.
Colorado is hoping to overcome injuries and carry their early season momentum to a win. They face an Oregon team that’s likely the weakest it’s ever been during the Buffs’ short Pac-12 tenure.
Meanwhile, Oregon is coming off a week not too different from the one Colorado had. Like the Buffs, the Ducks faced a road game against a Big-10 team, and lost partially due to penalties and special teams blunders. Nebraska bested the Ducks 35-32, handing them their first loss and pushing them out of the top 25.
Here’s a look at how these two teams match up heading into Saturday.
Offense
The Buffs likely won’t have senior quarterback Sefo Liufau. He went down with a sprained ankle against Michigan last week. Liufau could still very well play, as head coach Mike MacIntyre has him listed as “day to day,” but it remains doubtful. Freshman Steven Montez will likely get the start. He will look to improve after completing zero out of seven attempted passes against the Wolverines. Montez has looked good in practice and in the few snaps he saw against Idaho State, but still is extremely raw. Expect this offense to skew towards the run, even if Liufau returns.
This Oregon defense has traditionally played strong against Colorado, but this year could be different. The Ducks still have a good pass rush, but look more vulnerable in the secondary. Poor tackling has also been an issue for this unit. It was a factor in letting lowly UC Davis hang around in week one. The biggest weakness for this unit though is penalties. The team as a whole averages 104.6 yards a game lost to flags. Drive-sustaining pass interference calls are a big part of that, and could continue to hurt the Ducks if they don’t become more disciplined. But the Ducks are talented and it will be hard to put up points against if the Buff’s offense is one-dimensional without Liufau.
Defense
The Buffs defense looked stronger against Michigan than the final score might suggest. In fact, it was the special teams that gave up a lot of points on Saturday. That being said, the front seven began to melt against the run game and the talented Jabrill Peppers. The secondary continued to shine but also showed signs of weakness late in the game.
The good news for this Buffs defense is that Oregon’s pass game looked pretty weak against the Cornhuskers, with quarterback Dakota Prukop only managing 146 yards through the air. The Ducks lost star receiver Devon Allen for the season after he tore his ACL on Saturday, making the pass attack even less deadly. CU’s secondary has been incredibly impressive so far, so expect this match-up to favor the Buffaloes.
The bad news is that Oregon put up 336 rushing yards on the Huskers, 100 of which came from tailback Kani Benoit with another 97 from Prukop. Oregon has a history of lightning-quick running backs and this year’s crop is no different, featuring explosive talents like Benoit and Taj Griffin. That’s not even mentioning starting tailback Royce Freeman, who is dealing with a leg injury and is listed as day-to-day. Run containment is definitely the biggest thing to worry about this week. The loss of junior outside linebacker Derek McCartney hurts. Sophomore N.J. Falo will probably fill in and will have his work cut out for him. His ability to contain the outsides will be critical.
Special Teams
Ordinarily a piece like this wouldn’t include a special teams section, but it’s hard to ignore the profound effect both special teams units had in each team’s loss.
For the Buffs, two blocked punts were the only thing keeping Michigan from getting blown out in the first half. They were relatively small mistakes by the punt team, but they altered that game completely. Poor punt coverage also allowed Jabrill Peppers to score a touchdown late in the game, ending any hope that was still left of a Colorado comeback. Also, senior kicker Diego Gonzalez is out for the year. That means that unproven junior Chris Graham will likely fill in.
For Oregon, it wasn’t special teams mistakes that doomed them, it was the unit’s absence after offensive scores. The Ducks found another way to shoot themselves in the webbed-foot by opting to attempt the two-point conversion after every touchdown. They failed to convert four out of five times, meaning the final score of 35-32 could have titled in Oregon’s favor. Whether the team sticks to the two-point plan remains to be seen.
So can the Buffs beat Oregon for the first time since 1998? Fans’ll see when the game kicks off tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Kyle Rini at kyle.rini@colorado.edu
