Despite a sluggish game following the bye, Oregon came into the contest against Colorado as heavy favorites (-21). The Ducks took a quarter to get the engines running on offense, but then took off against Colorado. While the final score was 45-3, this game could have been a lot closer if not for a huge swing of moment before halftime. A back breaking 14-point swing came thanks to another Oregon red zone stop and a great two-minute offensive drive.

Oregon took the rare Friday night match up and turned it into one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the year. Autzen was filled with star-power, and even took the chance to light up the stadium with colored LED lights left on the fans seats. The only thing that could take the shine off tonight (other than Pac-12 officiating) was a handful of injuries, most of which don't appear too serious. With so many highlights on the evening there is no time to waste, lets get to it.

Beyond the game, the Oregon football staff turned this into a major recruiting event. Friday night under the Autzen lights saw all the stars come out. In the video above you see a couple duck commits (Johnny Wilson and Jaylan Jeffers) along with a couple other Duck targets (Jermaine Burton and Josiah Phillips). Just to give you an idea of how much talent was around here is a list of the visitors we noticed Friday night:

Definitely the highest rank recruit in town, this was Ringo's first official visit (he is likely to take all five). While the Ducks would definitely love to have him, it will be an uphill battle with Georgia and possibly Texas as the rumored front-runners. Still, with Oregon's current recruiting team, I would never count the Ducks out.

Wilson was one of a handful of Duck commits on hand, and like the others, still highly sought after. Even though other suitors are coming along, it would be extremely surprising to see Wilson end up elsewhere, as the chance to play beside former teammate Mycah Pittman isn't something Johnny is likely to pass up.

Slusher took an Official Visit to Nebraska just recently, and some Nebraska folk even thought they had a shot to flip him. During the Nebraska-Ohio State game, however, Slusher tweeted out a "#ScoDucks" which likely ruffled some feathers in Lincoln. Getting Slusher back out to Oregon to strengthen his commitment was an important piece, because other teams don't stop recruiting elite talent. Slusher's input during the game Friday night?

You may notice that Bennett Williams is the only one not ranked above, but if he was, we'd expect him to be at least in the 4* discussion. In his Freshman year at Illinois, Williams made the Freshman All-American first team, and would be a household name at this point if not for a few young mistakes, getting kicked off the team for breaking team rules. Although the violations are rumored to not be serious in nature, I think Williams has learned and matured from the situation and is ready to make the most of his next opportunity, one which is leaning pretty heavy towards Eugene

Burton committed to LSU back in the spring, and had a top 5 comprised mostly of SEC teams. Despite being from Georgia originally, he is now out on the west coast playing along side Johnny Wilson. Burton would be a major steal, and getting him up for a visit is a small win for the Duck coaches. I wouldn't put the chances for a flip too high, but who knows with this Duck staff and some teammates in his ear.

Holden has been planning on taking this visit for a long time, even after committing to Alabama. Holden was once a USC commit, and while turning away from Alabama might be a tough sell, the Oregon staff did roll out the red carpet anyways. Having two committed Duck HS teammates, Jared Greenfield and Anthony Beavers, on the visit and in his ear certainly doesn't hurt.

Jeffers is a big piece of the Oregon 2020 class that will be replacing a large number of scholarships on the offensive line. Jeffers isn't as active as some other players on social media, but by all indications is very solid to the Ducks. The other finalist for his services, Arizona State isn't likely to stop recruiting Jeffers short of him asking them to stop. Even though ranked "only" a three-star, Jaylan has athletic ability and a frame that could see him well outperform his rankings.

Greenfield is a guy the Duck coaches like a lot, and the feeling is mutual for Greenfield. In addition to having future teammate Anthony Beavers already committed, Greenfield is friends with numerous current Duck players and commits.

Beavers is a big time commit for the Ducks 2021 class. If you ever need a hype man, Beavers is it. He is out there recruiting for the Ducks, but spreads the love around to all his fam, being one of the first to congratulate all his brothers on their college decisions. Beavers had been to Eugene before, but Friday night was his first game day experience.

Pulling a highly sought after OL from the east coast won't be easy, but if anyone can do it, it will be this staff. What certainly doesn't hurt is the domination on the line witnessed by Jager Burton and everyone else with eyes on the game. Burton is a solid 2021 prospect that is receiving major interest from Penn State, Notre Dame, and many others.

DJ Harvey is already up to 10 offers as a 2021 athlete and is unlikely to remain at 3-stars. The Duck coaches really like Harvey and would love to add him to next years class. Getting him up on an official visit like this is laying the ground work for landing this national level recruit.

This last one had to ruffle some feathers for Colorado fans and team, as Oregon brought in Colorado talent for this game. This is one that Colorado will undoubtedly be after, and the Ducks are laying the groundwork for a battle for the future recruit.

While Josiah Phillips is a few years off, he will be a major recruit soon. Although he only has one offer so far, that offer is from LSU. Oregon will likely offer Phillips eventually, but still a long way to go.

As if that wasn't enough star-power, Oregon Women's Basketball was also in the house with a number of 5* commits on visit. Overall, Oregon sports recruiting is at an insane level in multiple sports, including Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, and Men's and Women's Track and Field. I think you would have difficulty finding another school pulling in top 10 classes in 4 of 5 of these, let alone 3 of 5.

The Friday night just wouldn't be complete without running into now retired Duck and NFL great Jonathan Stewart. He took a few minutes to chat with me before the game, after delivering the starting lineups for the Ducks. Stewart was one of the first recruiting battles I covered, and has been a major ambassador for Oregon along his career. We wish him happiness and health following hanging up the cleats.

Oh yeah, by the way, there was a game Friday night too. Here is the Ducks running out to "Mighty Oregon":

The first drive was almost derailed by a botched snap, but the Ducks quickly recovered and drove down the field. The finishing play by Jake Breeland resulted in an easy wide-open TD thanks to a blown coverage by the young Colorado secondary. This wasn't the only completely blown coverage by the Buffs, as Redd and others made big plays without much resistance.

Here were the previously mentioned LED lights distributed to the fans, they used these during Mat Kearney's "Coming Home (Oregon)". This became fun for the fans, but had to be a cool experience for the recruits as well.

Oregon defense gave up a long drive on Colorado's second possession, but again stood tall in the red zone, only allowing a FG. Simply put, field goals aren't going to beat Oregon. Oregon traded one back after their offense again stalled a bit, and finally got going again with a 7 play 69 yard drive that was capped off by a Cyrus Habibi-Likio TD. This TD would set off a flurry of scoring for the Ducks (and Cyrus too!).

Due to an unfortunate collision between Troy Dye and Jevon Holland, a number of Ducks were pushed into heavier than normal duty. One of those Ducks was Haki Woods Jr., who had the best game of his Duck career. Here is one big hit on a Colorado drive aided by PI penalties, another eventual trip into the red zone that would yield no points for the Buffs. The depth and talent of this Oregon squad allows them to overcome injuries, and play with their hair on fire.

Didn't we say Haki Woods had a great game? Here he is breaking up the 3rd down and goal attempt, which deflected up, allowing Verone McKinley III to make a spectacular play on the ball. This was initially ruled out of bounds, but after review, it was clear he had a foot down with control.

The combination of the interception in the end zone and subsequent Oregon drive was a back-breaker for Colorado. The Ducks went 80 yards in 67 seconds, capped off by the Jaylon Redd sweep play to the end zone. What could have been a 17-10 game with Colorado getting the ball following the break, became 24-3. The beauty of this play, and much of the offensive success, can be owed to the offensive line play. Take a look at Penei Sewell on this run, as he effectively takes out three Colorado players out of the play.

Two plays into the second half, Colorado started a bad pattern of drive killing interceptions. This was the second consecutive drive (other than taking a knee to end the half) killed by interception, and the following two would end in INT as well. What you can't see in the clip above is Verone McKinley III is the guy breaking up the pass, causing the deflection and allowing Bryson Young to make another demoralizing play.

To cap off the gift given by Young and the defense, Redd and Herbert both read the cover one with a blitz coming, and go to a hot route to Redd. Herbert throws it perfectly and Redd is easily able to beat the recovering defender for a TD. Moments into the second half and this one was already over.

For the third straight turnover, Verone McKinley III was right in the thick of it. This one was a gift wrapped INT from Colorado that almost turned into six. One play later, Cyrus Habibi-Likio would take the ball in for his second TD of the night, giving the Ducks the 38-3 lead. Colorado would get a little something going on the next drive, aided by PI and a late hit out of bounds call, that was pretty questionable, but once again the Ducks shut them down. On 4th down, Colorado went for the end zone, but Nick Pickett came down with the ball, the fourth straight INT ended drive.

The theatrics keep getting better for Shout! in between the third and fourth quarter. While this team knows how to work, they also know how to have fun. The players feed off the energy of the crowd, but also help fuel the crowd energy. I think the most important part is that the culture now installed allows the team to bring the energy they did last year at home, while on the road. Oregon has been much improved in their road efforts vs. a year ago.

The Ducks would visit the end zone one more time, following another defensive stop, this time on downs. Habibi-Likio would notch his 3rd TD of the game following a huge 70 yard run by CJ Verdell. The above post has both those plays, along with a chance to enjoy some of the other prior mentioned action one more time.

Defensive domination. Oregon isn't allowing scoring and even when allowing red zone trips, isn't giving up touchdowns. Oregon has now allowed only 2 touchdowns in 14 red zone attempts, which leads the NCAA. Oregon is also tied for fewest TDs allowed in the NCAA with only 4, and have only given up 1 TD in the last five games. During those five games, Oregon has only allowed an average of 5.0 points per game.

Oregon has been dominating games, and it all starts on the line, and with the outstanding play of the defense. The offense is finally coming around, and that is led by the top play of the offensive line, highlighted by the Ducks best offensive player Penei Sewell. Don't believe me? When is the last time a Offensive Lineman was asked to be interviewed on TV following a game? Sure Justin Herbert is right up there with him, but Sewell just turned 19 and will be top 5 NFL pick following next year. Watching this interview, the buy in to team direction between team and coach is undeniable.

I don't think it is necessary to tell anyone what week it is coming up, but should the Ducks be victorious, they will nearly have the Pac-12 North wrapped up (could do so by early November). If the Ducks can't get it done up in Seattle this weekend, things become a bit more interesting, but Oregon still controls it's own destiny.