The Oregon Ducks and the Colorado Buffaloes have a rich history against one another. The two schools have faced off 17 times with Oregon breaking the tie and picking up their ninth win of the series last season. The Ducks have won the last three contests, the last two of which ended in blowouts.

Oregon is again favored to win by a wide margin (39.5 in Las Vegas), but the Buffaloes are an improved bunch under first-year head coach Mike MacIntyre. They present a strong passing attack, attempting 38.7 passes per game for 295.7 yards, ranked 24th and 25th in the country, respectively. Better than half of Connor Wood’s passing yards are thanks to wide out Paul Richardson, who is 11th in the country with 487 receiving yards along with five touchdowns. He’ll be tested by Oregon’s strong pass defense and most notably their secondary, which ranks in the top 25 in opponent’s completion percentage (53.8) and yards (744).

Oregon also ranks ninth nationally in opponent QB rating (89.53) and third in yards per pass attempt (4.4). To go along with a talented defense, the Ducks have the best rushing offense in the country (332.5 yards per game, 21 TD, 7.64 yards per carry). De’Anthony Thomas will be out with an ankle injury, but Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner are more than capable of carrying the load.

Colorado’s rush defense is strong, allowing a 10th best 91.3 yards on the ground per game. However, Oregon’s rushing attack is too good and too deep and shouldn’t be slowed too much on Saturday.

The game this weekend will be a homecoming for two Oregon coaches. Graduate assistant Cha’pelle Brown, who played defensive back for Colorado from 2006-2009 is in his first season with the Ducks. Mark Helfrich also formerly coached at Colorado as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2006-2008. The forecast in Boulder calls for a high of 55 degrees with a few clouds, much better conditions than either team played through last week.