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Opponent Preview - Colorado Buffaloes (10/22)

The Beavs get the Buffs at home this year

By Marcus Russell
/ new
Washington v Colorado Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Colorado Buffaloes

  • Head Coach: Karl Dorrell (3rd Season)
  • 2021 Record: 4-8 (3-6 in Pac-12)
  • Last Meeting: 11/06/2021 - Colorado 37, Oregon State 34 (2OT)
  • Key Returners: TE - Brady Russell, RB - Alex Fontenot & S - Isaiah Lewis

What to Know:

I won’t sugarcoat it, this should be the easiest Pac-12 victory of Oregon State’s season. Colorado hit the reset button after going 4-8 last season and having zero players drafted in the latest NFL draft. Karl Dorrell hired six new on-field assistants and Colorado lost an astounding amount of players to the transfer portal (23 players!) including their leading rusher, top two receivers and three starters from their secondary.

A complete reset (especially on offense) isn’t such a bad thing for the Buffs though, because their offense struggled MIGHTILY in 2021. Colorado failed to reach 200 yards of offense four separate games last season and was the 2nd worst offense in all of FBS. Brendon Lewis and JT Shrout are still battling it out at the quarterback position. Shrout is a Tennessee transfer that could have been the starter last season before injuring his knee. Both are healthy and I wouldn’t be surprised if both played throughout the season. Daniel Arias, RJ Sneed and Maurice Bell are dangerous wide receivers; but Colorado will need better pass-protection if they are to improve on last years disastrous showing.

Defensively Colorado was not too bad giving up 26.7 PPG (7th in Pac-12) in 2021. They are a young group overall but they have some veterans on the defensive line. Colorado will have to replace a lot of production in the secondary though.

The Buffs don’t have an easy non-conference schedule and their best chance to string together some wins will be in October (AZ, Cal, OSU & ASU). The Beavers on the other-hand will be excited for their ‘bye’ week as the Colorado game will be their 8th straight contest. Colorado knows on paper this is supposed to be a rebuilding year, but the coaching staff has been preaching toughness and they say that unity and belief is growing daily.

Oregon State needs to make amends for last season’s double-overtime loss in Boulder. The Beavers should be able to put up plenty of points at home and their defense has the talent and depth to put the clamps on a rebuilding Colorado team. If the Beavs don’t win by double-digits here something has gone terribly wrong in 2022.

Player To Watch

Isaiah Lewis - Safety

Oregon State v Colorado Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The talented safety picked off Chance Nolan and returned it 38 yards last season. He’s Colorado’s best secondary player, but he’ll have a tall task of buoying up an incredibly inexperienced secondary. Last season’s starters: Christian Gonzalez (Oregon), Mekhi Blackmon (USC) and Mark Perry (TCU) all hit the transfer portal.

Prediction

Oregon State wins it 48-17.

Game Info

  • Date: Saturday, October 22nd
  • Time: TBD
  • Location: Reser Stadium (Corvallis, Oregon)

2022 Opponent Previews

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