3 keys to a victory for No. 10 Oregon football vs. No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes

Autzen Stadium is sold out, ABC is broadcasting to a national television audience, and the hype of “Coach Prime” bringing his media darling No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes to Eugene has been building for a week.

After a slow roll out, the college football season finally feels consequential for No. 10 Oregon (3-0) as it opens Pac-12 play against Colorado (3-0) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

“Really exciting week for us here,” Ducks coach Dan Lanning said. “Super pumped about the crowd that we're about to see in Autzen. And I think there's a lot of excitement surrounding this game. I know our players are really pumped to get out there. I think (Colorado) coach (Deion) Sanders has done a great job, obviously, with his team. He's created a lot of momentum, and they've done phenomenal in their first three games. So this will be a fun one for us.”

The Ducks will go into the game as three-touchdown favorites, though Colorado has earned equal billing because of its unexpected and entertaining start to the season, the celebrity status of its first-year coach, who has proven to be everything the Buffaloes had hoped for and then some after hiring the NFL Hall of Famer last winter, and the talent Sanders has amassed in Boulder, starting with his Heisman Trophy candidate son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

“We're ready for the moment,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said. “With games like these, the build up is always big. A lot of us have played in big games. It's going to be an intense game once we get out on the field, but, you know, I expect it to settle down as the game goes on and just be football.”

Here are three keys for an Oregon victory.

Win the turnover battle

Oregon is one of two FBS teams — along with Penn State — yet to have a turnover this season.

Colorado is one of five FBS teams leading the nation with 10 takeaways.

Feels like something’s going to give and whichever team can play closer to their brand of football is going to have the advantage.

For the Ducks, that means a continuation of how they’ve played since Lanning arrived in Eugene. In their last 16 games, Oregon has 26 takeaways and just 12 turnovers.

This season the Ducks have six takeaways — including four in the win against Texas Tech.

The Buffaloes have five interceptions and five fumble recoveries.

“They're a havoc team, right?” Lanning said. “They find ways to make sure their players have good vision of the ball. They have some instinctive players that play with a level of aggressiveness that you can see, and they do some challenging things that are going to create that."

Put a lid on Shedeur Sanders

The Colorado quarterback has been one of the break-out stars of the college football season so far.

His 417-yards passing per game ranks No. 2 in the nation and the Buffaloes passing attack is the second-most prolific in the FBS as well.

Sanders also ranks No. 6 in completion percentage (78.67%) and No. 7 in passing TDs.

The Ducks lead the Pac-12 and are No. 16 in the country in passing defense at 158.7 yards allowed per game.

“Their quarterback is pretty electric,” Oregon defensive lineman Casey Rogers said. “I think one thing you see right away is how well he throws the ball and how well he runs the offense.”

The Buffaloes have flaws offensively. They've allowed 16 quarterback sacks and they rank last in the Pac-12 in rushing with an average of 61 yards gained on the ground each game.

If Colorado is as one dimensional as it appears to be on paper, then stopping Sanders is paramount to Oregon's success.

Easier said than done, however.

“He extends plays, and when you extend plays, it's hard to cover for a long time,” Lanning said. “So we have to do a good job of not allowing him to extend plays, but also make sure that we plaster guys in the back end when he does.”

Stay unstoppable on offense

Only one team in the nation scores more per game than Oregon, which averages 58 points, and only three teams average more than the Ducks’ 579.7 yards of offense.

Oregon hasn’t been stopped yet, and now it faces a Colorado team that ranks 12th in the Pac-12 in total defense (460.3 yards allowed per game) and rushing defense (195.3 yards per game), 11th in scoring defense (30.3 points allowed per game) and 10th in passing defense (265.0 yards per game).

If the Ducks get rolling on offense, it might not matter what Shedeur Sanders is able to do when Oregon is on defense.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Keys to victory for No. 10 Oregon football vs. No. 19 Colorado