**Editor’s Note: Each week during football season we will feature an essay from the opponent’s student newspaper on how Oregon will lose. This week’s edition is from Shay Knolle, sports writer at University of Colorado’s CU Independent.**
Men lie. Women lie. Numbers don’t.
It’s easy for anyone to compare the numbers between the Buffs and the Ducks and come to the conclusion that, come Saturday, Oregon will set a new FBS Division I record for points scored in a single game. Considering the Ducks are second overall in points scored, with an average of 51 per game, it’s not far-fetched.
What the numbers won’t tell you, however, is how desperate we truly are.
Think about it. We sport a roster of more than 100 players who’ve spent the past several weeks getting outright embarrassed by our opponents. No one likes to admit it, but there are games you’re supposed to win. Not only did Colorado lose those games, they did so in a laughable fashion.
Our team has been beaten into submission on and off the field. I played football for several years growing up, and believe me when I say that the practices following a loss are the near-equivalent to spending a week in Guantanamo Bay.
Now ask yourself, what happens when you corner an abused, desperate animal who is fighting for its right to live — and is quite frankly pissed off?
It begins to fight back.
As former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson put it, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Oregon, prepare to get punched in the face, have your hair pulled, raked in the eyes, etc. A team can only be hit in the mouth for so long before they hit back and hit back hard.
So when your team steps foot onto the turf at Autzen Stadium in Eugene this Saturday, expect more than a football game. Things will get physical. Expect a fistfight reminiscent of a Raiders vs. Steelers game in the ’70s. Expect flags to fly, expect to get hit before, during and after the whistle.
As I see it, you cannot afford a single loss if you hope to play for a national championship this year. Believe me when I say the Buffaloes would love nothing more than to spoil your plans. Don’t interpret what I’m saying as a threat: Think of it as a warning.
We have nothing to lose. You have everything.
So come Saturday, I have one last thing to say: Marcus Mariota, Bryan Bennett, Kenjon Barner, De’Anthony Thomas – keep your head on a swivel.
You’ll need it.