Oregon / Wide receiver / Mycah Pittman
Mycah Pittman, one of the highlights of the 2019 recruiting class, sustained an injury that sidelined him. Pittman entered 2019 ranked as the 85th best recruit in the nation. Against Cal, he showed flashes of promise and caught four passes for 43 yards. Pittman showed spurts of athleticism and averaged a solid 10 yards per catch. It will be interesting to see how Pittman is worked into the offense as Jacob Breeland, Jaylon Redd and Johnny Johnson III have been getting the most targets in his absence. Adding Pittman creates a new wrinkle in the Oregon passing game that has the potential to be explosive.
Oregon/ Defensive End / Kayvon Thibodeaux
Thibodeaux entered the 2019 season as the top recruit in the country and has become part of one of college football’s best defenses. He is a key member of Mario Cristobal’s revamped defense, which has held its opponents to less than10 points for four straight games. However, Thibodeaux’s start of the season has been slow, only recording six tackles in the first four games of the season. But against Cal, Thibodeaux sacked quarterback Devon Modster twice and was able to force a fumble. This performance earned him Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week, and he’ll look to carry that momentum over to the game against Colorado.
Colorado / Wide Receiver / Laviska Shenault Jr.
The NFL-caliber wide receiver for the Buffaloes may not play on Friday, but is nonetheless the Buff’s surefire star. He is also one of the top pass-catchers in college football. Shenault has been favorably compared to NFL star Julio Jones by media outlets like Bleacher Report and is a powerful receiver at 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds. The junior has 17 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Shenault suffered an undisclosed injury against Arizona State and did not play in Colorado’s defeat against Arizona last week. If Shenault plays Friday, he will challenge Oregon’s robust secondary and will be the top weapon for quarterback Steven Montez.
Colorado / Linebacker / Nate Landman
At 53 total tackles through five games, the junior linebacker from Danville, California, is far outpacing the rest of the team and is the dominant tackler for Colorado. Landman had 12 tackles against Arizona alone last week. He had his best performance of the year against Big 10 foe Nebraska, a game in which he recorded 14 tackles. He is among the top 100 tacklers in Colorado history. He netted a variety of awards in the preseason, including preseason first team All-Pac-12 by Phillip Steele’s College Football. However, Landman has yet to record a sack or force a turnover this season. Landman will look to ground Oregon’s offense to a halt, and with Oregon’s shaky offensive play, he will have a good chance to do just that.
