Mike Golic Jr.: Oregon has key opportunity vs. Colorado, Deion Sanders

Colorado has overshadowed the rest of the Pac-12 with its incredible start to the 2023 college football season, but a loss during Saturday’s matchup vs. Oregon could derail all momentum for the Buffs heading into a steeper challenge the next week vs. USC.

That’s obviously easier said than done, as no team has had an answer for the Buffaloes through three games to begin the year. Former NFL player turned radio host Mike Golic Jr. joined On3’s Andy Staples to questions whether or not Deion Sanders and Colorado have the ability to stop this high-powered Oregon offense.

“Oregon is a heavy favorite in this game. Coming into the year, they were what we felt like was a known commodity in the Pac-12 with Bo Nix and the rest of this offense and what Dan Canning has started to build already — I do wonder if this goes the way we think,” Golic told Staples. “Maybe this could be the bump that Oregon kind of needs.”

Weirdly enough, the ranked preseason teams in the Pac-12 are the ones no one is talking about. Oregon and USC have done their thing this season by taking care of business but has also flown under the radar while doing so. Meanwhile, you’ve got teams like Washington and Colorado that have become these national attractions because of the sheer excitement that comes with watching those programs play.

Now that Colorado is forced to handle Oregon and USC during consecutive weeks, those matchups will be very telling on where the Pac-12 heavyweights rank as we head into the meat of the conference schedule. Whether or not Colorado can sustain this success will be predicated by their prowess in the trenches.

“You can recruit skills players almost anywhere and with Deion Sanders at the helm, what young skill player wouldn’t want to come and be a part of this?” Golic asked. “… Being able to recruit depth and quality along the line of scrimmage is usually the biggest differentiator between G5 and Power 5. They’ve been very impressive, but now you get a couple of injuries up there and the equation starts to change a little bit.”

The most notable injury for the Buffs isn’t in the trenches, it’s their superstar two-way WR/DB Travis Hunter who will be sidelined with a lacerated liver for the next few weeks. His absence could be the difference in the outcome of the game.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on ABC. Oregon will enter the weekend as a 20.5-point favorite against the Buffs, per Vegas Insider, with the over/under total set at 70.5.