Oregon played a nearly perfect first half of football to paste Colorado in Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon, scoring five touchdowns in six possessions while forcing the visitors to punt every time they had the ball.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning didn't hold back in his pregame speech against Colorado 👀
— ESPN (@espn) September 23, 2023
"They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins." pic.twitter.com/imo4OHA4fA
They led 35-0 at halftime, stuffed the Buffs again on their first possession of the second half, then drove 76 yards in six plays to score again.
Noah Whittington blasted up the middle for 16 yards to get the Ducks to their 42. Bo Nix hit Traeshon Holden for 8 yards, then again for 29. A route up the sideline to Troy Franklin drew pass interference, Ducks ball at the Colorado 6.
On 4th and goal from the one (Dan Lanning was still going for touchdowns on 4th down) Jordan James powered in behind strong blocks from Josh Conerly and Marcus Harper II.
With 9:00 minutes to play in the third quarter Oregon led 42-0. Evan Williams blitzed from the left side on third and six, dumping Shedeur Sanders for a 9-yard loss, the home team's sixth sack of the game, forcing another Colorado punt.
The game lost energy after that. With Nix still in the Ducks picked up a face masking penalty to cross midfield, then Bucky Irving broke a 19-yard run to reach the Colorado 21. A pass to Holden got the Ducks to the 9.
On 4th and 5, Lanning stubbornly passed up a field goal but the visitors got pressure and Nix missed Holden in the end zone for a turnover on downs.
🙌 @oregonfootball showed UP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tOTopSlkxN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 23, 2023
By the end of the third quarter, the Ducks led by that same 42-0 score. The defense had held 3-0, 19th-ranked Colorado, the sensation of the opening month of college football to a scant 72 yards and 7 first downs, -23 yards rushing. Sanders had little time to throw and was limited to short passes, 15-22 for 95 yards.
Nix ended his day 28-33 for 276 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He'd also run for an 11-yard touchdown just before the end of the first half.
In the battle of Heisman candidates, Nix was the clear winner.
With the Oregon reserves in, Colorado put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive in the fourth quarter that nearly doubled their yardage for the game. Sanders connected with Xavier Weaver for 21 yards to the Oregon 6, then found tight end Michael Harrison in the left corner of the end zone for six. The Ducks blocked the extra point with just 2:51 to play in the game, leaving time only for the runout.
At the gun it was 42-6. The Ducks outgained Colorado 522-199. Nix completed 85% of his passes while Irving, Whittington and James led a rushing attack that chewed up the Buffalo front line for 240 yards on 38 attempts, 6.3 per rush. The defense sacked Sanders 7 times.
In the postgame press conference Deion Sanders bluntly admitted, "It was an old-fashioned butt-kicking."
Thank you @DeionSanders for not letting the press control the narrative of the team’s loss today. We still #IBelieve No excuses. Admitted the other team was better prepared and said they'd learn from it. @CUBuffsFootball 🦬 #CoachPrime #COLvsORE #DeionSanders pic.twitter.com/IqLgkMpfMl
— Lupus Dei (@rebelprime21) September 24, 2023
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