Sept. 23rd – at No. 10 Oregon – Proof of Concept

Oregon scored on three consecutive double-digit drives to open up a 21-0 lead before the Colorado offense could muster a second first down, with the Ducks coasting to a 42-6 thrashing of the Buffs in the last meeting between the two teams as members of the Pac-12. Oregon posted 522 yards of total offense, while holding the CU offense to 199 total yards. Duck quarterback Bo Nix hit 28-of-33 passes for 276 yards three touchdowns, while also scoring on an 11-yard run just before the half to make it a 35-0 rout at the break.

Shedeur Sanders, meanwhile, went 23-for-33 for only 159 yards and a late consolation touchdown pass to Michael Harrison. Sanders was harassed all afternoon, being sacked seven times, and the Buffs committed 12 penalties for 103 yards.

“This game is not going to be played in Hollywood, it’s going to be played on grass”, Oregon coach Dan Lanning told his team before the game (he also said that videos didn’t win games, but he had no problem having his pregame talk be taped for later replay. Oh, and the Ducks unveiled their 3,653rd different Nike uniform combination for the game … good thing Oregon is all about the game between the lines).

“Usually we are a  fundamentally sound team,” Coach Prime said. “We don’t make foolish mistakes and implement danger and harm on ourselves field-position wise. We just kept making mistakes and that’s not indicative of who we are … (But) it’s not just the kids. The coaches are accountable too. We are all accountable. Let’s start with me. We’re accountable for this.”

Proof of Concept is “evidence which demonstrates that a design concept, business proposal, etc., is feasible” … Haters will be out in full force after CU’s humbling loss to Oregon, but the Coach Prime experiment is still very much on schedule … “This is the worst we’re gonna be” …

Game Day! … “Every week is the biggest battle because we try to win every game” … Neill Woelk’s Keys to the Oregon game … Mr. Clutch: Shedeur’s impressive fourth quarter numbers … Buff defense hoping to keep gaining turnovers while limiting explosion plays …

Pac-12 assistant coach: “I think Oregon this weekend is not going to be pretty … If they pull this one off, I’ll shut the f— up” … ESPN’s All-Transfer Portal Team includes four Buffs … ESPN Analysts: “Shedeur is going to have to have his best damn game for them to have a chance” …

Stats to change: Oregon’s offense has suffered no turnovers and given up no sacks … Shedeur Sanders has thrown as many touchdown passes (10) as CU quarterbacks threw in all of 2021 and all of 2022 … Memory lane: Videos of game-winning plays against Oregon in the ’85 and ’16 games …

Both teams have Heisman trophy candidates, but only one is getting publicity … CU takes its 2nd-ranked passing attack to Autzen, going up against the nation’s 15th-ranked pass defense … The Buffs are 20.5-point underdog (just like they were three weeks ago) – will the result be the same as it was in Ft. Worth? …

The win over the Rams is in the books – What can Buff fans take away from the 43-35 win? … CU is a 20.5-point underdog to No. 10 Oregon (when have we seen that line before?) … Can the Buffs shock the college football world yet again, taking down another ranked opponent on the road? … Let’s find out …