Colorado vs. Oregon: Buffalo Stomping Keeps Ducks in BCS Title Discussion

The Oregon Ducks (8-0) hosted the Colorado Buffaloes (1-7) in a Pac-12 matchup between the most dominant team in the conference and one of the most stale teams. 

Needless to say, pegging the Ducks as 47-point favorites in the spread was insulting...to the Ducks, who should have been given more credit after a 70-14 thumping. 

It was the largest spread in Pac-12 history, and the Ducks were able to cover it with ease thanks to possessing arguably the most potent offense in all of college football. 

"

Final: No.4 #Oregon defeats #Colorado 70-14. Ducks 618 yards total offense (439 on the ground.)

— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 27, 2012"

"

Most of Oregon's offensive starters pulled midway through second quarter of No. 2 Ducks' 70-14 rout of Colorado. on.msnbc.com/SLUega

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) October 27, 2012"

But while it's entertaining to see Colorado running back Christian Powell rush for 121 yards and two touchdowns in practically one half of football, the win wasn't overly impressive. 

On the contrary, it was expected. The No. 4 team in the nation is expected to thoroughly beat a team with a 1-7 record. 

But the important aspect of this game, at least for Oregon, was to prepare them for the final stretch of their schedule, which features No. 9 USC, California, No. 17 Stanford and No. 7 Oregon State. 

Three of their final four teams are ranked opponents, so the Ducks were in need of an additional confidence boost, which they achieved after scoring their highest point total of the season. 

USC, on the other hand, just lost some confidence after their 39-36 loss to Arizona. 

Now, the Trojans know that if their defense blinks for even a second, the Ducks offense will put them into a hole they can't dig out of. 

That's the kind of fear a powerful offense can instill, and that's why a one-sided victory over Colorado helps Oregon. 

But for now, the Ducks will take it one game at a time and enjoy the fact they're very much in the discussion for the BCS title game.