On Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Oregon, the No. 10 Oregon Ducks completely outclassed the No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes, winning 42-6.
In a game that on paper was just as bad on the field, the Ducks completed dominated, out-gaining the Buffaloes 518 yards to 194. The bulk of Colorado’s yards came with the game already decided. At halftime Coach Prime’s team trailed 35-0 and had a grand total of 19 yards. When a team has 30 first downs to your 13, you know it’s been a long day at the office.
The game itself showed just how much work the Buffaloes need to do in order to compete with the upper-echelon teams in college football. That begins and ends with playing in the trenches (offensive and defensive) lines, a place where they were manhandled from the onset. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, who’s taken his fair share of shots at Coach Prime and the Colorado program as a whole, was no different before and after Saturday’s cakewalk victory.
Lanning Talked The Talk, His Team Walked The Walk
Last month, when the Buffaloes made the decision to leave the Pac-12 and head to the Big 12 beginning next year, Lanning, who’s in his second season as the Ducks head coach was pretty blunt in how he felt about it, pretty much saying who cares, because they’ve done nothing since joining the conference in 2011.
His pregame speech Saturday was centered on the attention and visibility the Buffaloes have been receiving since Deion Sanders arrived in December. During that speech a fired-up Lanning told his guys this.
“They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins,” Lanning said in the video.
“The Cinderella story’s over.”
Following the game, Lanning was unrelenting in how he felt.
“We were prepared for a battle, it didn’t end up being a battle,” Lanning said after the game. “I’m glad we got to put Oregon in the light it deserves to be in.”
Sounds personal for Lanning.
Deion Gracious In Defeat
In his postgame presser, Sanders was asked did if saw Lanning’s pregame speech, which he responded that he’s received messages about it. But he was also quick to say that Oregon can do or say what they want because they won going away.
As for what he told his players in the locker room …
“Get your butt up and let’s go. We ain’t got no time to have a pity party. Ain’t nobody walking around this locker room with napkins and tissues.”
It’s no rest for the weary, as reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans invade Boulder next Saturday.
