Welcome to the Pac-12, Coach Prime.

A fired up Oregon and head coach Dan Lanning rolled out the welcome mat for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in both teams’ conference kickoff Saturday. Then Lanning promptly swiped it away, along with Colorado’s dignity, in a 42-6 win at Autzen Stadium.

It’s not just that the Ducks ended the Buffaloes’ unbeaten streak, it’s that they sent them back to the Stone Age. Or, at least, back to last year.

Actually, Colorado barely avoided last year’s 49-10 result. But the Buffaloes at least managed 367 offensive yards in that loss.

On Saturday…

  • Oregon faked a punt from its own 17-yard-line on fourth-and-4, giving the ball to a defensive tackle, Casey Rogers, who rumbled for an 18-yard gain
  • Lanning went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line up 35-0. They got it.
  • Lanning went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard-line up 42-0. They did not get it.
  • The Ducks went for two other fourth downs. They went 3-for-4 overall
  • Shedeur Sanders was sacked 7 times, giving Colorado 22 sacks allowed on the season

For many, the game will be about Buffaloes’ bravado being squashed in real-time.

But the real story was the Ducks’ and their utter domination, and what it means for their College Football Playoff hopes.

Here are my three takeaways from the overwhelming Oregon win.

Lanning makes it personal

So much of the national narrative on Colorado this season has been Deion Sanders’ ability to take perceived slights and convert them into motivational tactics.

Lanning made sure to avoid any instances of bulletin board material, walking the delicate balance of respect and reverence to a tee.

Clearly, he was seething underneath the surface, as his pregame speech revealed.

As did the fake punt and the multiple 4th down attempts. It was clear that Oregon felt slighted by the attention being heaped onto Colorado after its 3-0 start. Of course, this is all ridiculous, as the Ducks were 21-point favorites.

But football coaches will do whatever it takes to get their guys fired up. And how lit up was Lanning?

“We’re not done yet. We’re not satisfied,” he said at the half. “I hope everyone that’s been watching (Colorado) every week is still watching.”

Oregon was up 35-0 at that point.

Bo Nix gets his early Heisman showcase

Early on this season, all the shine has been on the Pac-12’s historic quarterback class. USC’s Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman winner; Michael Penix Jr., Washington’s prodigious passer; and especially Sanders, who vaulted into Heisman contention with his 3-0 start.

If anyone was ignored, it was Nix, whose Ducks played subpar competition in the first three weeks and mostly cruised, save for some Nix heroics in Week 2 at Texas Tech.

On Saturday, with all eyes on Autzen, Nix sizzled. Especially in the light of Sanders’ sad showing. He started the game 24-of-26 passing and finished 28-of-33 for 276 yards and three touchdowns with one pick and one rushing score. Two of the touchdowns tosses went to the terrific Troy Franklin.

Buffaloes players — and coaches — do themselves no favors

In a game in which they’d have to be more than perfect to contend with the size and speed advantage that Oregon clearly had — made all the more noticeable by the absence of two-way sensation Travis Hunter — the Buffs did themselves precisely zero favors.

In addition to the seven sacks allowed, Colorado had a handful of drops, more than a handful of missed tackles, and 103 penalty yards. At one point late in the game, the Buffs had nearly as many penalty yards as total offensive yards. (They finished with 199 total yards, 93 of which came on one late fourth-quarter drive.)

Meanwhile, Colorado’s coaches — so impressive through three games — did not put the Buffs in position to win. Colorado could not protect Sanders worth a darn.