Colorado at (12) Oregon

Time: 9 PM CST

Spread: ORE -20

Odds c/o 5dimes

The No. 13 ranked Oregon Ducks are 4-1 after four straight wins following its season-opening loss to Auburn.

Oregon hosts Colorado Friday night at 9 PM CST on ESPN as 20-point favorites.

ORE

Oregon has got it done largely on the strength of Justin Herbert’s arm. He has thrown 116 of 162 for 1,341 yards with 15 touchdowns an just one interception. He has also only been sacked 1.6 times per game this season for an average lost yardage per game of just 5.3 yards. His passer rating of 170.5 is outstanding, and the Ducks have scored 15 of its 21 total TDs via the pass. The biggest beneficiary has been tight end Jacob Breeland. He is tied for the lead in receptions (23) and leads Oregon in receiving yards (352) and touchdowns (5).

Johnny Johnson III has caught 23 passes, as well, for 275 yards and two touchdowns. The top-two running backs for Oregon are CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, who average 4.3 and 5.2 yards-per-attempt respectively. Verdell has two touchdowns to his credit, while Dye has none so far. No. 3 running back Darrian Felix has two TDs and the other two came from Cyrus Habibi-Likio, who has also rushed for 77 yards on his 21 attempts. The Ducks are a team built around its pass offense, but it is not short on options rushing the ball either.

Oregon ranks No. 36 in scoring at 34.2 points per game while possessing a No. 31 passing offense, but what has made the difference is that the Ducks are really strong defensively this season. Oregon is holding opponents to just 9.8 points per game, and the most points it has allowed was 27 to Auburn in Week 1. We are used to Oregon being a dominant offensive team, but this year it has turned a lot of that focus and attention to its defense and it is working out thus far with the four-straight wins headed into this week’s matchup.

COL

The Colorado Buffaloes are 3-2 after losing 30-35 to Arizona last week. It defeated a ranked Arizona State team the week prior, and it has also knocked off a ranked Nebraska team in Week 2. The Buffaloes miscues against weaker teams like Air Force and even Arizona have brought it to earth and prevented an AP Ranking, despite having fared 2-0 against ranked teams.

Colorado QB Steven Montez has been sensational. He has thrown 67 percent for completion with 1,463 yards on the year, 10 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. His passer rating is 153.4. Montez’s top two targets have already eclipsed 400 and 300 yards total respectively, as Tony Brown’s 29 catches lead the team. Brown also has four of the team’s 11 TD receptions, with five other players accounting for the remaining seven.

Colorado has five options over 100 yards on the season, and Fontenot will be the next to eclipse that mark as he has 13 catches for 74 yards. The Buffaloes are a tough team to gauge because of its inconsistency, and the Buffaloes have not been good defensively. It is surrendering 31.6 points per game, which still gives it a chance considering its No. 35 ranked scoring offense, but Colorado will really have to tighten up defensively to have a chance against a fairly stacked Oregon offense.

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