Quack Fix: Reviewing Colorado, Week 4 in College Football

Football Roundup

• In Oregon’s Pac-12 opener versus Colorado, the Ducks built up hope just to have it snatched away (literally) in the final seconds. They dug themselves out of a 23-7, second-quarter hole and led 38-33 going into the final frame. All seemed right — for a moment. But backup quarterback Steven Montez hit Bryce Bobo with a controversial, 31-yard touchdown to give the Buffaloes an edge with less than nine minutes remaining. Colorado (3-1, 1-0) sealed the 41-38 victory, as Ahkello Witherspoon picked off Dakota Prukop’s pass intended for Darren Carrington on the final drive.
• Let’s put all this losing nonsense behind us and look ahead to next week’s opponent — Washington State (1-2, 0-0). Now if the Ducks (2-2, 0-1) can’t pull off a win over the Cougars and fall below .500, this is going to be a way longer season than anticipated. The Cougars should enter competition well rested, considering they had a bye week filled with relaxation in addition to preparation.

"One (approach to a bye week) is work them like crazy, which I don't agree with," Washington State coach Mike Leach said. "The other is give them the whole week off, which I generally don't agree with. And then the other is give them the front end of the week off, work them towards the back end of the week and really focus on fundamentals. That's the approach we've taken.”

The Cougars most recently competed Sept. 17 when they clobbered Idaho 56-6 in this year’s ‘Battle of the Palouse.’

• Looking around the rest of the Pac-12… Quarterback Troy Williams threw an 18-yard touchdown pass with less than 20 seconds to go, as No. 24 Utah (4-0, 1-0) stunned USC (1-3, 0-2) 31-27 in Salt Lake City on Friday. (Think the Trojans are panicking yet or naw?)… Boise State nearly blew a 31-7 halftime lead, but held it together just long enough for a 38-24 victory at Oregon State (1-2, 0-0) on Saturday… No. 7 Stanford (3-0, 2-0) scored twice in the final 24 seconds — once on an eight-yard TD pass from Ryan Burns to J.J. Acreage-Whiteside and again on the game’s final play, as Soloman Thomas returned Josh Rosen’s fumble 42 yards — to slip by UCLA (2-2, 0-1), 22-13… Arizona State (4-0, 1-0) overcame a 14-point, first-quarter deficit and scored 31 points in the final frame to top California (2-2, 0-1), 41-41… Jake Browning found Dante Peittis for a four-yard TD in overtime, as No. 9 Washington (4-0, 1-0) escaped with a 35-28 win at Arizona (2-2, 0-1).
• Across the country, No. 14 Tennessee overcame a 21-point deficit to take down No. 19 Florida, 38-28, behind QB Joshua Dobbs’ five, second-half touchdowns and 399 overall yards… Euphoria to defeat? No. 17 LSU’s last-second (past-second) touchdown was overturned, as Auburn (just barely) held on for an 18-13 dub. I guess you could say the Tigers gave this LSU girl a run for her money.

Would this be a proper football roundup without mentioning Lamar Jackson? I think not — especially after what he did last night. The Heisman Trophy front-runner threw for five TDs and ran for two more in No. 3 Louisville’s 59-28 blowout over Marshall. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Lamar Jackson Show. More to come next week at No. 5 Clemson.

All Things Ducks

• Oregon women’s volleyball (9-2) notched its ninth straight win, sweeping California on Friday, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19, behind Lindsey Vander Weide, who tied her career-high with 25 kills and added 15 digs for a double-double. The day before, the Ducks had opened Pac-12 play with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-16 sweep of Oregon State.
• The Oregon women’s soccer team (6-3-1) dropped both of its matches this week, falling 1-0 to Portland on Monday and 3-0 at Stanford on Saturday. These losses mark the first and second time the Ducks have been shut out this season.
• It came down to the final hole, but the Oregon women’s golf team ultimately fell 3-2 to Wisconsin for second place at the East and West Match Play Challenge at Roderick Farms Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich.

This whole ‘Before I say goodbye, say hello to HI-LIGHTS!’ thing was a lot more fun when the Ducks were actually winning, but here we are…