Who would have thought that Colorado Defensive Back Ahkello Witherspoon's 4th quarter interception would spur a 5 month battle between the two schools for months to follow?
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Really, Colorado vs. Oregon on September 24th of 2016 was foreshadowing the next few months between these now PAC 12 rivals. Colorado was leading 26-17 at half in Eugene, then Oregon took a 38-33 lead in the 3rd quarter before Colorado would land the final blow to win 41-38 in thrilling fashion.
Over the last few months, Colorado and Oregon have battled on the field, battled for Coaches, and are currently battling for recruits as National Signing Day Approaches.
The Timeline
Nearly two months following Colorado's 41-38 victory over Oregon, the Ducks fired Head Football Coach Mark Helfrich on November 29th after a very disappointing 4-8 season. It took Oregon less than 10-days to fulfill the position as they hired Willie Taggart on December 7th.
Taggart went to work assembling a very strong coaching staff and went after Colorado Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt. After the Buffs were unable to meet Leavitt's salary requirements to stay in Boulder, Oregon had their new Defensive Coordinator hiring Leavitt on December 14th.
The Buffs would put the defense in the hands of interim Defensive Coordinator Joe Tumpkin who will resign from Colorado on January 31st following off the field legal issues and Colorado suffered a 38-8 loss to Oklahoma State during the December 29th Valero Alamo Bowl.
One week following Colorado's loss in their first Bowl Game since the 2007 season, Oregon hired another Colorado Football Assitant Coach luring Defensive Back's Coach Charles Clark from the Buffs on January 5th.
Oregon didn't stop there and with Colorado Coaches now on staff formerly from Colorado, the Ducks offered Colorado Commitment Grant Polley on January 10th. Polley shut down his commitment and is a strong Buff pledge. The biggest win for Colorado over Oregon since September 24th, 2016.
The Ducks then offered Colorado Commit Carson Wells who was recruited by Jim Leavitt while at Colorado on January 16th. While Wells seemed to appreciate the offer, he looks to be Boulder Bound. Another win for the Buffs.
On January 30th Josh Falo a Rivals.com 4-Star Prospect out of Sacramento, California will make his college commitment. Colorado, Oregon, and USC are among his top three choices. Falo mentioned on Friday, January 27th that he is taking his final official visit to Oregon this weekend.
Falo choosing Colorado on NSD would be a major blow to Oregon and likewise to Colorado if Falo heads to Oregon.
While this timeline is through January of 2017, we don't expect the drama between the two schools to end anytime soon.
Colorado Football National Signing Day Headquarters
National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 and we at CUSPortsNation.com have you covered regarding all things Colorado Football Recruiting. Scroll down for the latest updates, news, and timelines.
