It’s a battle of Pac-12 foes on the gridiron up in the Beaver State as a pair of teams coming off victories look to maintain momentum. The Colorado Buffaloes are on the road as they make the trip to take on the Oregon State Beavers Saturday night. Colorado comes in off a 20-13 overtime home victory over Cal in the debut game for coach Mike Sanford last Saturday. Oregon State took down Washington State 24-10 at home last Saturday in their most recent contest. These teams have met 12 times previously with each school winning six times, though it was the Buffaloes picking up a 37-34 triumph at home in the most recent matchup on November 6, 2021.
Colorado started the season 0-5 and fired Karl Dorrell before coming up with their first win of the year at home by downing Cal in overtime last week. The Buffaloes improved to 1-5 on the season overall and stand 1-2 in Pac-12 play on the year. Against Cal, Colorado led 3-0 at the half, trailed 7-3 after three quarters and traded the lead twice in the fourth quarter as the Golden Bears tied the game on the final play of regulation. In overtime, Colorado scored a touchdown on their possession and then stopped Cal on their possession to secure the victory. The Buffaloes held a 328-297 advantage in total offense but lost the first down battle 19-17 and the time of possession by a 30:06 to 29:54 margin. Colorado also turned the ball over three times while forcing only two takeaways.
For the year, the Buffaloes are 116th in the nation in passing offense as they average 171.7 yards per game thr ough the air. Colorado is 106th in the FBS in rushing offense as the team averages 113.8 yards per contest on the ground. The Buffaloes are 128th of the 131 FBS teams to take the field this season in scoring offense as they average 14.5 points a game. Colorado is an equally dismal 127th in scoring defense as they allow 38.2 points a contest. Owen McCown is 57 of 100 passing for 600 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. J.T. Shrout is 30 of 67 passing for 301 yards with three touchdowns against one interception while Brendon Lewis (15 of 24, 92 yards, 43 rush yards) has also seen action this season. Deion Smith leads the team on the ground with 46 carries for 243 yards plus a score. Anthony Hankerson (35 carries, 140 yards, two TD), Charlie Offerdahl (27 carries, 131 yards) and Alex Fontenot (20 carries, 84 yards) are also active in the run game. Daniel Arias has hauled in a team-high 18 passes for 295 yards plus a score this season. Montan a Lemonious-Craig (13 catches, 168 yards, TD) and Jordyn Tyson (nine catches, 126 yards, two TD are the only other players with more than 71 receiving yards on the year. Cole Becker has hit nine of 10 extra point attempts and six of seven field goal attempts with a long of 43 this season.