Rocky Mountain High
Oregon’s playoff hype is increasing, and so is their red blood cell production.
The Ducks are on the road again, and this week they’ll be 5,360’ above sea-level at Folsom Field to face the downtrodden Colorado Buffaloes.
Having already fired their coach this season, the 1-7 Buffs are mercifully safe from unseating Washington’s 2008 0-12 National Championship.
And they even have a teensy tiny bit of that Interim Coach Magic™.
They beat Cal in overtime at home, and then just scored a season-high 34 points last week in a shootout loss to ASU.
But even if you call that “magic” by their standards, it only stretches so far.
CU unfortunately boasts the 130th-ranked rush defense in the nation—and notably, there are 131 teams in the nation. So their defensive front is certified Not Good Whatsoever.
(The Ducks are 9th best running offense in the country)
The Buffs’ defense also average just .75 sacks per game. Which makes them tied for 130th nationally in that stat, too. Again, there are 131 teams.
(The Ducks are literally the best at preventing sacks)
So Bo is going to have all day to air it out in the thinner, homerun-friendly air. And Bucky/Noah/Sean will have Boulder Canyon-sized gaps to ice the game on the ground—no matter who might be in at quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Did somebody say, Rocky Mountain Ty?
If everything goes to plan, we might actually be able to finish a game without giving up 17 bogus points in garbage time, and then the scoreboard watchers around the country can be just a little bit more impressed than they already have been.
I’m sure a lot of Duck fans—especially ones that have lived at sea-level most of their lives and/or haven’t tried to exercise above 5,000’—are pretty skeptical of the constant narrative about elevation every time Oregon plays at CU.
“Are we only talking about altitude because there’s not much of an actual competition on the field?”
Well, yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that the first 24-36 hours after making a jump like that can be a serious shock to anyone’s system who isn’t used to something like that.
Dillingham and Lanning were both at ASU, so they’ve been around the Pac-12 South and have a little bit of knowledge that they can pass on to the team. And Gonzo is literally coming back to his old squad, so he can be a voice in the locker room that hammers it home.
Hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more.
But Bo Nix has never played a game above 1,400’ (where he was 2-0 at Arkansas, so that’s good), and Pinson, Alabama sits at just 620’. Don’t be surprised if—even with this team’s ability to improve from game-to-game—they’re all still a little slow to get things started.
I bet this game will be a lot like 2017 at Wyoming, which sits just above 7,200’ and is the highest of all FBS stadiums.
The Ducks were only up 14-10 after the first quarter, but then Herbert proved he was way better than Josh Allen, Royce ran for three TDs in the first half, and we ended up bucking the Cowboys 49-13.
That sounds about right, I’ll go with that.
49-13, Green & Yellow blood cells.
Go Ducks.