Colorado gets big reality check in blowout loss to Oregon

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Colorado gets big reality check, still unfinished product even with improvement

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Sep 23, 2023 7:59 PM ET

The Colorado Buffaloes have made significant strides under first-year coach Deion Sanders, already winning two more games than they did all of last season.

As nice as that progress has been, they showed on Saturday in a 42-6 loss to Oregon that they are still very much a work in progress and far from a finished product.

This was always going to be a big barometer for the Buffaloes given the early schedule they have played, and they got a pretty big reality check in the loss. Oregon completely dominated the offensive and defensive lines, while also shredding a Buffaloes defense that was without top cornerback Travis Hunter.

There are a few things to keep in mind here with this result.

The first is that Oregon is one of the best teams in the country and was clearly out to send a message to both the Buffaloes as well as the country. Head coach Dan Lanning made that very clear to his team in his pregame speech where he said Colorado was out for clicks while his team was out for wins. He put his foot on the gas and never let up no matter how lopsided the score became.

"They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins" pic.twitter.com/GomdTF43yR
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 23, 2023

The second is that for as much hype that Colorado has received this season, some of it it was a little bit over the top.

The Buffaloes still have major holes along the offensive line and on the defense, and the early schedule to this point has not been the most daunting. Their season-opening win at TCU was impressive, but it was followed by a couple of lower-tier teams in Nebraska and Colorado State, while they were very lucky to escape the latter with a win after falling down early in the first half.

It was probably not a team that was fully deserving of the No. 19 ranking going into Saturday, and all of the hype (the ranking, the "60 Minutes" feature, the commentary) has likely put a significant target on their backs for legitimate top contenders that will feel overshadowed going in.

That is definitely what happened with Oregon on Saturday.

It very well might happen again next week against USC (an even better team than Oregon) and later in the season against teams like Utah, Washington and Washington State.

It does not take away from the progress Colorado has made. Also the fact that Oregon cared so much about this game and was so fired up for it is a testament to how far the program has come in just one year under Sanders.

But Colorado is still a long way from being on the same level as teams like Oregon.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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