It's arguably the game of the week on the college football schedule -- No. 10-ranked Oregon hosting Deion Sanders' No. 19 Colorado inside a raucous Autzen Stadium.
For all the intrigue and anticipation the matchup is drawing, the Ducks are nonetheless 21-point favorites -- a line that ballooned once Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter was ruled out for Saturday’s game.
The Ducks went 3-0 in their non-conference schedule, as did the Buffaloes, and even with Hunter’s absence, they may have the talent to stick with Oregon.
However it shakes out, it should be great college football theater Saturday.
Here are the 10 most compelling storylines for the showdown ...
1. The beginning of the end for the Pac-12
As the Pac-12 is set to dissolve by the start of the 2024 football season, Saturday marks the last opening weekend of conference play. It’s a league with a storied past, and fittingly, it might be the strongest conference in college football top to bottom in its last go-around.
The quarterbacks, especially. To name a few: USC’s Caleb Williams, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon State’s D.J. Uiagalelei and the two battling in this matchup: Oregon’s Bo Nix and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
While there will still be West Coast offenses facing off in the future — as some of these programs join the same conferences — this will be the last time they all compete against one another.
Winning the final Pac-12 championship starts Saturday, so sit back and watch the drama start to unfold.
2. No disrespect
Just three weeks into the season, the weekly jab sent Colorado’s way had grown redundant. Coach after coach trying to get a taste of the spotlight Deion Sanders created for the Buffaloes.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning offered a different approach — one that suits his personality:
“I think Coach Sanders has done a great job with his team,” Lanning said in his Monday press conference. “He’s created a lot of momentum and they’ve done phenomenal in their first three games.”
The other side of that, which Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell showcased with his comments last week and Nebraska’s players with their actions the week prior, have only motivated Colorado’s players more. Lanning’s doing just the opposite and we’ll see how that translates to the football field.
While some have tried to attach Lanning's comments from Oregon's pre-camp media day, when he questioned what Colorado had accomplished in the Pac-12 in the wake of the Buffaloes announcing their departure to the Big 12 and starting the chain of events that led to the demise of this conference, Lanning reiterated this week that none of that had anything do with the program Sanders is building.
"No, I don't regret anything that I've said for this program. At the end of the day, obviously I wasn't talking about Deion's team -- I was talking about the past and the future for our team," he said. "But if that serves as material for them, great, right? I don't think it's going to have any bearing on the game or the success of the game."
3. Marquee quarterback battle
Both Nix and Sanders are early season Heisman candidates as well as highly-touted prospects who should hear their names called in April’s NFL Draft (if Sanders leaves after this year). Saturday is a prime opportunity for the QBs to make a statement in both regards.
In some ways, their journeys to quarterbacking their current teams were similarly unconventional. Nix’s shortcomings at Auburn led to a transfer to Oregon, where the narrative of his career has flipped. Meanwhile, many were skeptical if Sanders’ game would translate from Jackson State to the Pac-12 — some questioning if he’d even start.
Through three games this season, Nix has thrown for 869 yards and 8 touchdowns. Sanders has 1251 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a game-winner in double-overtime last Saturday. Their abilities should translate to this game being a shootout.
