CU Buffs Game Against Oregon and the Rest of October Now Looks a Little Less Daunting

Go ahead and admit it... If someone had offered to bet you straight up that Colorado would have a better record than Oregon after four weeks of the 2015 season, you would have bet the house. The whole country would have.

If someone told you that one of the two teams (either the Buffs or the Ducks) would be giving up nearly 41 points per game and the other only 16.5, you would have been willing to wager that it was the Ducks with the better numbers.

Surprise! One week before the Oregon Ducks limp into Boulder for a night game on ESPN, the Buffs now find themselves knowing that the Ducks can be beaten. Indeed, only four weeks into the season and the Ducks have already lost twice. And even in their two wins (Eastern Washington and Georgia State), the Ducks gave up 42 and 28 points, respectively. They are not a strong defensive team.

In their game at home against Utah, Oregon gave up 62 points and were outplayed in every facet of the game.

Marcus Mariota and his Heisman Trophy are no longer running the show for the Ducks and it certainly shows this year. Things are about to get ugly. Last week, the Oregonian ran the story: "AP Top 25: Oregon Ducks fall to lowest ranking in 4 years"

This week, the Ducks are very likely to be out of the Top 25 for the first time in a long time. Or they may squeak in at around 24 or 25, but they certainly shouldn't. A 2-2 team who gives up 62 points at home to a team they were favored to beat by 10 points does not deserve to be in the top 25.

Oregon is not the only team the Buffs play in October that is struggling. 

The Buffs schedule for the month now looks like this:

• October 3 -- Oregon Ducks (2-2) Lost at home 62-20 to Utah
• October 10 -- Arizona State (2-2) Lost at home 42-14 to USC, and face UCLA next week. Will likely host CU with a record of 2-3.
• October 17 -- Arizona (3-1) Lost at home 56-30 to UCLA, and plays at Stanford next week. Will likely come to Boulder with at least two losses.
• October 24 -- Oregon State (2-2) Lost at home to Stanford 42-24, and plays at Arizona on Oct. 10th. Will likely host Colorado with at least 3 losses.
• October 31 -- UCLA (4-0) Beat Arizona 56-30 in Tucson. Face three tough games (ASU, Stanford, and California) before coming to Boulder.

Of the teams listed above, only UCLA seems to be on a roll worthy of a top 10 team.

The Colorado Buffaloes will have five chances in October to show they deserve to play in a bowl game this year.

At the beginning of the season, the October schedule looked like a "Murderers Row" to fans, but four games into the season the schedule looks a lot less scary. The Buffs know that none of their Pac-12 games will be as easy as their 48-0 blowout over Nicholls. They have been saying since camp began back in August that they have the talent to play with anyone. And they have said they are ready to win the close ones.

With the games in October, the Buffs have a chance to prove it. And it begins when Oregon comes to town next weekend.