Three takeaways from Colorado’s 52-29 loss to Oregon

BOULDER — The inevitable happened.

The Colorado Buffaloes fell to the Oregon Ducks in Eugene Saturday by a score of 52-29. Coming into the game, the Buffaloes were dead last in the country in yards per game and Oregon was the No. 7 team in the country. The outcome was expected.

But a couple of things that happened in the game were unexpected. Namely, Colorado’s ability to move the ball and put up points on one of the best football teams in the country.

No coach will be happy about losing by 20+ points, but we’re talking about some of the positives in today’s takeaways.

The offensive line was surprisingly good

After Colorado’s loss to Cal a week ago, head coach Karl Dorrell fired offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue and replaced him with 33-year-old quality control coach William Vlachos.

The change sparked optimism for an offensive line that was one of the worst in the nation through seven games this season.

But even the most optimistic CU fans wouldn’t have expected to see such a drastic difference in the quality of play up front just five days after the change was made.

Colorado was able to build a pocket consistently on Saturday for the first time this season. An Oregon defense that notched six sacks last weekend only managed one against Colorado. Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, the best college football player in America, was quiet.

The run blocking was very average, but even that is an achievement after what we’ve seen from the Buffs in the trenches so far this season.

It’s never a good idea to put too much stock into one performance, it’s tough to find reasons to be skeptical of CU’s newfound success. Oregon is top-tier opponent, with top-tier talent; if the Buffs can block the Ducks, then they should absolutely be able to block Oregon State next week.

If these final five games are an audition for Vlachos to earn the full-time gig starting next season, he’s off to an incredibly hot start.

Brendon Lewis played his best game of the year

Maybe the biggest development to come out of Saturday’s game is the performance of freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis.

Lewis had struggled through the first half of the season. Colorado was last in passing yards per game in the Pac-12 with 117 per game. Every other team in the conference had at least 200. And that’s just one of the many stats that show Colorado’s incompetence.

But on Saturday, Lewis was in complete control.

Lewis completed 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 224 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t turn the ball over, either. It was a spectacular day f0r the young gunslinger, considering what the rest of the season has looked like.

Dorrell and several players on the team have told reporters that a significant portion of Lewis’ struggles can be credited to the play of his offensive line. It was easy to be skeptical considering much of the conference was doubling him up in passing yards, but Saturday is a solid piece of evidence that suggests Lewis can play—and play well—at the Power 5 level.

Brenden Rice was the star of the show in the passing game, notching 102 yards and a touchdown on five catches. He also had a 17-yard run and racked up 162 kick return yards, good for 27 per return. It’s clear that Rice is ready to be one of the conference’s elite receivers… if he has a quarterback who can get him the ball.

Ty Robinson and Alex Fontenot caught the other touchdowns and Brady Russell managed 42 yards on three catches, good for second on the team.

The defense missed Nate Landman

All-American linebacker Nate Landman missed Saturday’s game with an injury, and it wasn’t a game he could afford to miss.

Oregon’s offense is incredibly explosive, and that was on display on Saturday.

The Ducks capped off seven of their nine drives with touchdowns. One of the other two ended with a field goal that went through the uprights as time expired in the first half. The other ended with an Isaiah Lewis interception.

Oregon ran for 256 yards and four touchdowns, while averaging over seven yards per carry.

They also threw for over 300 yards.

While Saturday was an exciting showing for Colorado’s offense, the defense struggled mightily and put a damper on the performance.

Landman alone wouldn’t have stopped all seven of the touchdowns that Oregon scored, but he may have helped the Buffs keep the Ducks out of the 50s.