When Oregon hosts Colorado on Saturday, the TV audience could reach 10 million; the Buffaloes and Coach Prime drew 9.3 million for their Saturday late game against Colorado State, which didn't end until well after midnight on the East Coast.
It's a showcase and an opportunity. The Sanders Show, featured on 60 Minutes last weekend, has created fascination and a frenzy around the country, particularly among the media. Merchandise sales at Colorado are up 819%.
A season ago at Oregon, it was Rob Mullens who made a leap of faith and began a bold experiment, choosing a young, defensive-minded assistant coach to run the Oregon program. Dan Lanning and his staff have built their team for moments like this, an explosive offense with a lot of weapons and a cool, veteran quarterback; an improved pass rush, a secondary featuring two players from the SEC and a cast of fast, hungry athletes who've formed a brotherhood.
The Sanders Show brought the attention, but now the Ducks can steal it.
To do so, they've got to avoid helping the visitors with turnovers. Colorado's defense ranks 125th in the country in yards allowed per game, but they've been opportunistic, tied for first in the nation in forcing turnovers with 10 in their first three games, 4 fumble recoveries, 6 interceptions.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is second in the nation in passing yardage with 1,251 yards; he's thrown for 10 TDs with just one interception. His principal targets are Xavier Weaver, 6-1, 180. a speed merchant who has grabbed 25 passes for 386 yards and Jimmy Horn, 5-10, 170, who's contributed 26 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Buffs star two-way player Travis Hunter is reported out for this game with a lacerated liver, sustained during a late hit by Colorado State safety Henry Blackburn. Blackburn's gotten death threats from Colorado fans, which Coach Prime has urged them to stop. "He made a mistake; it was a football play," Sanders said in his Monday press conference.
An important thing to remember in comparing the two teams is that the Ducks have two blowout wins in which their starters played just over half a game. Against Portland State and Hawaii, Lanning played 23 freshmen. Reserves finished each contest.
Tyler Shough and Texas Tech had some success against the Oregon defense, but the Ducks intercepted him three times and sacked him four. They'll win decisively if they can get pressure on Shedeur and force a couple of mistakes.
Lanning is counting on the Autzen atmosphere to be a key factor in the game. He told Portland radio host John Canzano, "The fans are about to be real at Autzen. I don't even have to hype them up -- I know they'll come ready."
The hype is already there. Bo Nix and the Ducks just have to rise above it.
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