A little more than a decade ago the Oregon Ducks were foiled in the postseason by the Colorado Buffaloes. The Ducks quarterback at the time, Akili Smith, faltered in and lost the Aloha Bowl against a Rich Neuheisel-coached Colorado team. Things are very different headed into today’s Ducks football game. And you can watch Colorado Buffaloes vs Oregon Ducks football online free live to see just how different.
The kickoff time for today’s Ducks football game against Colorado is 4:30 Eastern / 1:30 Pacific. It’s being televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
Leading the Ducks’ offense is quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Heisman front-runner and perhaps one of the few college football players in the country who could be drafted ahead of FSU’s Jameis Winston. Mariota is college football’s most-efficient passer, with a 184.56 passer rating, and he’s racked-up 38 TDs this season for the 9-1 Ducks, the most in FBS football.
Mariota’s 10 yards per pass attempt also ranks first nationally, as do his 9 yards per play among all QBs. It’s not just his arm that will be a test for Colorado as we watch today’s Ducks football game live. Mariota is a beast on the ground too, and if he rushes for nine yards in today’s Colorado vs Ducks game he’ll become just the fifth player in FBS history to tally 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards.
He’ll likely hit that milestone today. Colorado has lost 11 straight Pac-12 road games, and today’s Buffaloes vs Ducks football game is in Eugene, Oregon. The 2-8 Buffaloes are ranked 90th in pass defense nationwide, allowing 243.1 yards per game, which is ironically better than Oregon’s 120th rank. However, Colorado allows 206.5 yards per game on the ground, 102nd in the NCAA college football ranks, paving the way for Mariota to rack up some yards.
Yet Mariota doesn’t run alone. As you watch the Oregon Ducks football game today live, keep an eye on Oregon’s impressive trio of true freshman Royce Freeman, sophomore Thomas Tyner and junior Byron Marshall. Though Freeman’s carried the load in recent weeks, Tyner could get some reps today against the porous Colorado run defense. His 22.7-yard average on special teams leads all Oregon kick returners.
Though the Oregon Ducks football team holds the No. 2 spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, they’ll need to win their last two regular-season games and beat whoever they face in the Pac-12 championship game in December to stay in the playoff picture. Though a stumble today against Colorado isn’t likely, neither was the Ducks’ loss earlier this season to Arizona. No doubt the Ducks will come out of the gates strong today to try to avoid a letdown.
You can watch Colorado Buffaloes vs Oregon Ducks football online free live on the Pac-12 Live website. You can also watch the Ducks football game online live using the Pac-12 Live iPhone and iPad app or its Android counterpart.
