Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes were outgained 378-21 in the first half. Follow here for the latest.
(Photo: Soobum Im / USA Today)
Oregon leads 35-0 at the half
ABC showed a clip of Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s animated pregame speech in which he proclaimed, “the Cinderella story is over.” His team apparently took it to heart. The Ducks have dominated every aspect from the jump, with Bo Nix completing 22 of 24 passes for three TDs, the running backs averaging 7 yards per carry and the defense holding Colorado to a measly 23 yards (thanks in part to 47 lost yards on sacks).
What’s particularly noticeable is how much bigger Oregon is up front. The Ducks are blowing the Ducks off the ball on offense, and the D-line is just swarming Shedeur Sanders. It’s been a complete mismatch.
Where is the Colorado offense?
Colorado was outgained 378-21 in the first half against Oregon. How rare is that? According to TruMedia, Colorado is only the fifth Power 5 team to get outgained by more than 350 yards in the first half of a game since 2019. The last time it happened? Colorado’s 63-21 loss to Utah in its 2022 season finale. The Pac-12 champs outgained the Buffs 379-18 in the first half of that blowout.
Oregon is now favored by 45.5 points
Oregon was favored by 21 points on BetMGM before the game. With a 35-0 halftime lead, Oregon is now favored by a whopping 45.5 points in the live odds. Colorado isn’t doing its part for any potential shootout either. The live over/under is down to 65.5 points from the 70.5 it was at before kickoff.
First-half thoughts: Colorado had no answers
USA Today
Oregon’s student section let loose an “overrated” chant multiple times in the first half and Colorado will need a vastly different second half to prevent voters from booting the No. 19 Buffaloes from the polls next week. Colorado advanced past Oregon’s 40-yard line one time in the first half and punted on the next play.
Oregon’s offense has moved the ball at will in the first half, throwing passes to the perimeter early before controlling the line of scrimmage running the ball between the tackles for much of the second quarter. The Ducks racked up 22 first-half first downs. Colorado managed just four.
The Buffaloes’ defense had no answer for anything in Oregon’s offense and quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ habit of taking ill-advised sacks was a constant in the first half. He was pressured constantly and was sacked four times for a total loss of 47 yards.
The end result: Colorado ran 24 first half plays for 21 total yards. That won’t be enough to be competitive against anyone, much less a Pac-12 title contender like Oregon with one of the nation’s best offenses.
No ground game for Colorado
With the four sacks allowed, Colorado has minus-33 yards rushing in the first half.
Still a long ways away from the FBS record — minus-109(!) — for fewest rushing yards, set by Northern Illinois against Toledo in 1967.
Freshman running back Dylan Edwards, CU’s leading rusher entering the game (136 yards), has one carry for 1 yard.
Oregon leads 28-0
Bo Nix now has three touchdown passes and Troy Franklin has caught two of them.
Franklin is up to eight catches with 127 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Colorado has run one play inside Oregon’s 40-yard line today.
It was a punt.
It has run just six total plays beyond its own 40 so far.
Oregon making things difficult for Shedeur Sanders
It’s not yet halftime, but it’s getting really ugly in Eugene. CU was able to win its first three games in spite of a suspect offensive line, but there’s no masking it against a defensive front as athletic as Oregon’s. Colorado has lost 38 yards on sacks while gaining just 19.
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders has now been sacked 18 times in 14 quarters. Oregon has three in the first half.
CU entered the day tied for the second-most sacks allowed in FBS.
Colorado struggling on offense
Colorado has:
- Negative-18 rushing yards
- 19 total yards
- 23 penalty yards
- 14 first downs allowed
Costly penalties
Oregon was coming after that punt and Colorado got a delay of game trying to double and triple-check its protections.
Buffs in “pets’ heads falling off” territory at the moment.
It’s all Oregon so far
The live point spread is now Oregon -33.5, per BetMGM. The Ducks entered the game as 21-point favorites.
Everything’s coming up Ducks so far
They successfully executed a fake punt from their own 17. Bo Nix got sacked, only for Oregon to turn around and break a 25-yard run on the next play. All setting up a beautiful 16-yard Bo Nix TD pass to Troy Franklin. Throw in a successful 2-point conversaion and the Ducks are up 21-0, and CU looks dazed.
Fake punt to the big fella
Oregon converts a fake punt from its own 17-yard line with a 305-pound defensive lineman, senior Casey Rogers.
Oregon’s game plan is obvious and working
Throw it to the perimeter and dare Colorado’s corners to get off blocks and make tackles.
Buffaloes have not been up to the task thus far.
Oregon outgained Colorado 134-21 in the first quarter. Bo Nix was 11-of-12 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Bad start for the Buffaloes
CU finally got a positive play with a 15-yard completion to Javon Antonio coupled with a roughing the passer penalty on Oregon. But the Ducks defense held on the next set of downs, and CU had to punt. The Buffs playmakers aren’t getting many opportunities in the first quarter because they’ve barely been on the field.
Get to know Oregon QB Bo Nix
For the first three years of his collegiate career, Bo Nix was a massive what-could-be, the striving five-star son of a former Auburn quarterback jousting with legacy and expectation. That knotty backstory unraveled with a transfer to Oregon and a 2022 season featuring 4,000-plus total yards, 40-plus touchdowns and a near 72 percent pass completion rate that led all power-conference quarterbacks. Turns out everything Nix went through was fed into a next-gen processor chip somewhere under his spiky blond coif, and out came arcade numbers. Finally. An unclouded mind guides the operation in Eugene. And the Ducks follow the leader.
What is Bo Nix thinking? It’s everyone else’s problem now.
“It’s actually a cheat code for everyone out there,” says junior receiver Tez Johnson, Nix’s adopted younger brother who transferred to Oregon from Troy. “Because he’s the smartest guy on the field at all times.”
GO FURTHER
Inside the unclouded mind of Oregon’s Bo Nix
Colorado faces its largest deficit of the season
Colorado is facing its largest deficit of the season, down 13-0. The Buffaloes trailed Colorado State 28-17 in the fourth quarter last week before recovering to win in double overtime.
Oregon has now outscored its opponents 187-47 this season.
Oregon leads 13-0
Bo Nix finds Casey Kelly on a unique play-call as Nix finds the TE in the flat as he had the option to either run or throw. Oregon would go for two after the TD but no dice.
Oregon strikes first
It was an effortless opening drive for Oregon. Bo Nix completed all six of his passes. If Colorado is going to stay in this thing, Shadeur Sanders may have to be perfect himself.
Nix was a perfect 6-for-6 on that opening drive for 59 yards. Noah Whittington finishes the drive with a 3-yard TD run.
