The No. 8 Oregon Ducks will travel to Boulder, Colorado in week 10 to play their second-to-last away game of the regular season.
After a lackluster first half performance from the Ducks against the California Golden Bears in week 9, they rallied to trounce Cal in the second half.
Senior quarterback Bo Nix continued his Heisman Trophy campaign as he accounted for six total touchdowns. He passed for 412 yards and three touchdown passes while he rushed for 59 yards and three touchdowns.
Nix’s contributions gave Oregon 42 points, which extended their scoring streak to seven games of putting up more than 40 points on the scoreboard.
Needless to say, Nix and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham’s connection is on full display. Dillingham’s play calling is on another level, and Nix is playing like the seasoned veteran that he is. As a result, the Ducks’ total offense is ranked as third best in the nation, behind the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.
Versus the Bears, Oregon’s secondary had their best showing of the season as they broke up four passes and intercepted two interceptions. Two key members of the Ducks’ secondary and staff are former Colorado Buffaloes in Christian Gonzalez and cornerbacks coach and passing game coordinator Demetrice Martin.
Coach Martin was hired by head coach Dan Lanning on Dec. 23, 2021, after two seasons under former Colorado coach Karl Dorrell, who was fired after an 0-5 start to this season.
Once Martin departed, the 2021 all-Pac-12 honorable mention in Gonzalez followed suit the next month. He announced on Jan. 8, 2022 that he’s transferring to the Ducks via hisTwitter.
On the year, Gonzalez has accounted for 25 solo tackles, an interception and seven pass deflections. Of those 25, eight of them came against Cal as well as a blocked field goal attempt, the first for Oregon since 2017.
Colorado’s first and only victory of the season was versus Cal in week 7. Since, the Buffaloes have lost their last two games to the Oregon State Beavers and Arizona State Sun Devils by a combined 84-43.
Now they will host the No. 1 team in the conference, as Oregon is riding a hot seven game win streak this season. The Ducks are currently on a two game win streak against the Buffaloes, and their series total sits at 14-9, in favor of Oregon.
Colorado has only averaged 16.3 points per game and allowed 39.1, so look for them to lean on their three leading tacklers in sophomore safety Trevor Woods and senior linebackers Josh Chandler-Semedo and Quinn Perry to remain competitive in this contest. These three defenders have at least 30 solo tackles each, while Woods leads the team with 54.
With that being said, the Ducks are far better statistically, so they should be able to rest their starters early in this one. If they’re able to do this, then they will be able to provide meaningful playing opportunities for their reserve players, which would be beneficial for their growth going forward.
Tune into ESPN this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to see if the No. 8 Ducks (7-1, 5-0) can top their largest margin of victory against the unranked Buffaloes (1-7, 1-4), who were 70-14 in 2012.
