What’s new with Colorado since Oregon last played the Buffaloes?
It hasn’t exactly been a banner year for football in the state of Colorado. The Broncos are an epic disappointment, while the Colorado State Rams are among the worst teams in the Mountain West.
The Colorado Buffaloes might be the most disappointing of the entire bunch, however, as they sit with a 1-7 record heading into a home matchup against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
Colorado did finally move on from head coach Karl Dorrell after a disappointing tenure that saw him go 8-15 over the past three seasons, including an 0-5 start this year before he was fired.
New coach Mike Sanford led the Buffs to a win over Cal, but by and large it has been a really rough couple of seasons for Colorado.
Oregon may not have been at their best against Cal last week, but it’s hard to imagine a situation where they don’t take care of business in Boulder on Saturday, especially after looking at where this roster is at at this point in the year.
Who's new?
(Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Notable Offensive Additions
WR Jordyn Tyson
RB Anthony Hankerson
Notable Defensive Additions
LB Josh Chandler-Semedo
DB Jeremy Mack
Who's gone?
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Notable Offensive Departures
RB Jarek Broussard
WR Brenden Rice
WR Dimitri Stanley
Notable Defensive Departures
S Mark Perry
LB Carson Wells
LB Nate Landman
What's the same?
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Notable Offensive Returners
QB JT Shrout
RB Deion Smith
WR Daniel Arias
Notable Defensive Returners
DB Trevor Woods
CB Nikko Reed
LB Quinn Perry
Offensive Rankings
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Passing Offense: 182.2 yards per game (115th)
Rushing Offense: 113 yards per game (109th)
Total Offense: 295.2 yards per game (123rd)
Scoring Offense: 16.2 points per game (126th)
Defensive Rankings
Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Passing Defense: 246.5 yards per game (88th)
Rushing Defense: 237.2 yards per game (130th)
Total Defense: 483.8 yards per game (129th)
Scoring Defense: 39.12 points per game (129th)
Colorado's Resume
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Karl Dorrell’s tenure in Colorado began with such promise. A bowl appearance in year one, even if it was the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, left the people of Boulder with high hopes.
2021 was a tough season, and things went from bad to worse to begin the 2022 season. It would have been tough for the Buffs to defeat TCU or Minnesota, two of their non-conference opponents, but they weren’t remotely competitive in either game – and sandwiched in the middle was a 31 point loss to Air Force.
The win over Cal offered a brief reprieve, but every other Pac-12 game has gone pretty horribly: a 28 point loss to UCLA, 23 point loss to Arizona, 33 point loss to Oregon State, and finally a competitive loss to Arizona State last week, where the Buffs managed to score 34 points.
Colorado would need to somehow top that output, while playing the best defense of the entire season, to even have a chance against the Ducks on Saturday. It might be a while before this matchup is competitive again.
