Colorado’s biggest test of the season has arrived, and it comes in the form of a duck. This weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes travel to Eugene to take on the 10th ranked Oregon Ducks in what’s sure to be the most talked about game of the weekend. If the Buffs win, every news outlet will preach the success of Coach Prime and the boys, and if they lose, people will jump on the chance to bash Colorado and everything Deion has built in his short time here. No matter what, it’ll be must see TV.
The game kicks off at 3:30 EST, and here is ESPN’s projections for the matchup:
The current spread for the game favors the Ducks by 21.5 points, and the point total is set at 70.5. Last time the Buffs were given 21.5 points was in the season opener against TCU, and we all know how that went. Now, I’m not saying we’ll beat Oregon (though, I most definitely will be sprinkling some action on the Buffs moneyline), I just think that the spread is a bit much. Not even two weeks ago, Oregon escaped a loss to Texas Tech in what ended up being a one score, 38-30 game. And yes, I know that CU just avoided a devastation against CSU, but if people are using that as an reason as to why the Buffs will lose, the same evidence should hold true against Oregon and their efforts vs Texas Tech.
As for my picks for the game, I think that the Buffs will easily cover, and if that’s the case, the over is also sure to hit. I can see this game coming down to the wire, so I’d also suggest you to take the CU’s alternate spread of +10.5, which is currently giving odds upwards of +250. Also, to help convince you (or myself) to take the over, the Buffs past matchups have averaged 71.67 points per game, and the Ducks have averaged 73.67. If this game ends up being tight like I expect it to be, the only possible way is a shootout. The Buff’s D-line is Swiss Cheese, so I don’t expect them to be able to stop Bucky Irving and the rest of the Oregon rushing game, and Sheduer loves performing when the lights are brightest, so I’d put money on him having one of his best games of his career tomorrow afternoon.
DEION’S DOUBTERS
Needless to say, many experts are praying on the downfall of Coach Prime and the Colorado football program as a whole. I get it though, the man is revolutionizing the game, and people are known to be resistant to change. College football has been so good for so long, so with the introduction of the transfer portal and NIL, I can see how some would worry that the great product that is college football would degrade now that players have access to millions of dollars before reaching the NFL. The drive to perform at the college level in order to get paid the big bucks in the big leagues has gone out the window, and how the quality of play and players will change is still yet to be determined. Deion is just the first to take advantage of the current rules, so people are understandably using him as the easy target for their disagreements with the current system.
As I said earlier, the outcome of this game will determine how the media speaks of Deion and the Colorado experiment. A win will bring high praises, but a loss could bring a level of criticism and hate that hasn’t been seen before. We will only know which one will hold true about one day from now, and you know I’ll be sure to cover the game and the aftermath in Monday’s article.
A WORD ON TRAVIS HUNTER’S SITUATION
As a student at CU Boulder, I can’t help but believe in my squad against Oregon. That being said, we are without our best player, Travis Hunter, after he was illegally hit in last week’s game against Colorado State. Before I get into it, take a look at the hit for yourself:
Henry Blackburn, the safety who cheapshotted Travis, was only assessed a personal foul for his actions. Travis Hunter, on the other hand, received a lacerated liver and will miss the next three weeks of the season, which includes Colorado’s two biggest matchups against Oregon and USC. In my opinion, that hit was the most unsportsmanlike and maliciously intentful that I can remember. Blackburn was not playing the ball at all, and the play was over by the time he was even loading up to make contact.
In the aftermath of the hit, Henry Blackburn and his mother received death threats, which the media was quick to pick up on. Now, I know that threatening somebody’s life is never an acceptable thing to do, and we here at A2Z Sports would never condone such things, but I do believe that Blackburn is playing the victim card, which he never should have been able to do in the first place. That hit was so blatantly meant to injure Travis that many even thought that Blackburn should be charged with assault and never be allowed to step on a field ever again. In my opinion, that’s a little extreme, but the fact that he wasn’t suspended is disgraceful to the game. Because of this, I refuse to sympathize with Blackburn, and his attempt to redirect criticisms is lost on me. Not only did he possibly ruin the Buffs’ season by eliminating our best player for our most important games, but he could have ended Travis’ career because of his actions. Sorry, but you can miss me with that sympathy shit.
That does it for today! Follow us on Twitter @A2ZSportsTakes to see our picks for the NFL slate this weekend, and tune back in on Monday to get a recap of everything that will happen this upcoming weekend!