It feels like a brighter day for the Oregon Ducks now, doesn’t it? After picking up a much-needed victory over UCLA last week, the Ducks are ranked back inside the top-10 once again, and they are being talked about as one of the teams with a chance to make the College Football Playoff. If they can continue to win, there’s a real shot they will get there.
That starts this weekend with a game against Colorado. The Buffaloes are coming to town as one of the lesser teams in the Pac-12, but that doesn’t mean Oregon will roll them with ease. We’ve seen before that the Ducks often play down to their opponents, and go toe-to-toe with teams like Arizona and Fresno State late into the game.
Will that happen again? For our stress-levels sake, we hope not.
As will happen every week of the season, the managing editor of Ducks Wire, Zachary Neel, will convene with staff writers Don Smalley and Andy Patton to preview the game, set expectations, and ultimately make a final prediction.
Here’s what Ducks Wire thinks about the game against Colorado:
A Convincing Win?
Question: It feels like we’ve asked this question a number of times this season, but Oregon might have turned a corner offensively and defensively last week vs. UCLA. So it begs to be asked… Do you think the Ducks will deliver an impressive performance and blow out the inferior Colorado Buffs on Saturday? Or rather, do you expect a game that is still in question in the 4th quarter?
Zachary Neel: So, it depends on what you consider a blowout. I think that the Oregon defense will be able to have a career day against one of the worst offenses in the Pac-12, and there’s a good chance they hold them to single digits. However, I’ve learned not to expect fireworks from the Ducks’ offense on a weekly basis. I don’t think the score will ever be in question late, but I could totally see a 20-7 game that gets blown open late with a couple of 4th quarter touchdowns.
Don Smalley: Yes. I’ll be bold and say this is the week they put everything together and get the blowout. Colorado is decent on defense, but awful offensively. If the Buffaloes score more than 17 points, something desperately went wrong. Oregon needs style points to impress the playoff committee. If this game is close in the fourth quarter … a lot of things need to change.
Andy Patton: Yes – I know Brown has been criticized for playing down to their opponents but Colorado’s offense is anemic and as long as the defense holds them under 10 points there is no reason to expect this one to be close in the fourth quarter.