Colorado vs Oregon College Football Betting Preview

Deion Sanders and #19 Colorado football aren’t short on confidence amid their 3-0 start to the season, but they will face their first serious test on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET against Bo Nix and the #10 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. The Buffaloes are coming off a thrilling 2OT win over Colorado State last weekend, but they did lose two-way star Travis Hunter in the process to an injury. Oregon meanwhile hammered Hawaii by a score of 55-10. Below, we’ll preview the game and dive into any head-to-head history between the two programs.

History between Colorado, Oregon

There’s no shortage of meetings between Colorado and Oregon. Overall, they’ve clashed 24 times, with the Ducks winning 15 and the Buffaloes winning nine. Dan Lanning’s squad has won three in a row against Colorado however and tends to always perform at home.

Can Colorado keep it rolling?

None of the football betting sites are giving the Buffaloes much of a chance Saturday. That’s understandable considering how elite this Oregon program is, but you also can’t take Colorado for granted. Deion Sanders turned around this group in a hurry this summer, bringing in over 60 new players and making his son, Shedeur Sanders, QB1. So far, that’s paid dividends. He’s already thrown for over 1,200 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just one interception while competing nearly 80% of his passes. 

Sanders was a beast again in Week 3 against Colorado State, going 38 for 47 with 348 yards and four touchdowns. He was a big reason the Buffaloes managed to prevail despite a poor showing defensively. Unfortunately, Hunter is also out for a few weeks after suffering a lacerated liver on a dirty hit in the second quarter. That’s a blow to their WR room and their secondary considering Hunter is a Swiss Army knife.

It will be interesting to see how Shedeur handles Oregon’s defense. There’s little doubt he’ll perform, but the Buffaloes defense is a question mark. Giving up 35 points to Colorado State was unacceptable and if they play that way again, the Ducks are going to dominate.

Oregon is legit

While the Ducks haven’t really been tested yet, they’ve put up some big numbers. Oregon scored 81 points in their season opener, 38 in Week 2, and 55 in Week 3. Nix is a versatile weapon at quarterback who can do it all and has performed very well after deciding to come back to Eugene for one more year. He’s completed 77.6% of his passes for 893 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interceptions. 

The RB group is also solid, already rushing for 11 scores and more than seven yards per carry. They’re spearheaded by Noah Whittington and Jordan James, who both showed out in the victory over Hawaii. Nix also has lots of options out wide, too. Five different players had a minimum of three receptions.

Oregon’s offense is averaging 579 yards per game, which ranks fourth in the nation. Lanning’s squad can really produce and will be looking to expose Colorado’s defense that will be hoping to be a lot better than Week 3. Clearly, all the sportsbooks expect the Ducks to win this one, laying 21 points on the spread and sitting at -1100 on the moneyline at Bodog.