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The Oregon football team has a tricky test this weekend as they will be hosting Boise State. The Broncos have some elite talent on their offense and they are expecting to compete for the group of five College Football Playoff spot. Oregon and Boise State will battle it out under the lights in Eugene on Saturday night, and it will be a much tougher test for the Ducks compared to their week one matchup against Idaho. Before we get into this matchup and our predictions, let's take a deeper look at both of these teams.
Oregon football struggled in week one
Oregon came into the season ranked #3 in the country, but they struggled quite a bit on Saturday in their opener against Idaho. The Vandals are an FCS team, so they obviously weren't given much of a chance heading into this matchup against the Ducks. However, they found themselves only trailing by three points in the fourth quarter.
The Ducks came into this game favored by 44.5 points, but they didn't come even close to covering. Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter when Idaho scored a touchdown to make it 17-14. If the Vandals got a stop on the next drive, they would've had a chance to tie with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown. Oregon put together a nice drive, however, and they scored a touchdown to extend the lead back to 10.
The game started off well for Oregon as they got a quick stop on defense and they went down and scored a touchdown on their first drive. It looked like the Ducks were going to cruise like everyone expected them to, but they couldn't get into a rhythm after that on offense.
If you just look at Dillon Gabriel's numbers, you would think that the Ducks put up a lot of points and easily won. He finished the game 41-49 for 380 yards and two touchdowns. The fact that he threw the ball 49 times against Idaho and Oregon scored only 24 points is quite bizarre.
Based on the expectations for this Oregon football team coming into this game, this was an incredibly disappointing performance. The Ducks came into this season with aspirations to win the Big Ten, make the College Football Playoff and win a national title. They have a lot to clean up if they are going to achieve their goals.
Oregon is now in the Big Ten, and a lot of people believe that they can win the conference in their first year. Some people are starting to doubt the Ducks a little bit after Saturday's showing, but Oregon did get the win on Saturday and it is very normal for teams to look a little sluggish in the season opener.
One of the biggest concerns about this game is that it was against Idaho. As an FCS team, the Vandals had no business coming into this game and hanging with the Ducks, but they did.
Now, Oregon has to move on and regroup for week two, and the road will get tougher as they will be taking on Boise State, a team that is expected to compete for a playoff spot as they are one of the top group of five teams. A win against the Ducks would certainly go a long way toward getting into the CFP.
Boise State had an interesting week one matchup
The Boise State football team is also coming into this one with a 1-0 as they took down Georgia Southern in week one. That matchup was an interesting one for a couple reasons.
First off, the Broncos gave up 45 points to Georgia Southern, which obviously isn't great. The Oregon offense should present bigger issues for their defense than the Eagles did. The game was also interesting because it looked like Boise State was pulling away numerous times, but Georgia Southern kept creeping back in.
The Broncos started the game off strong as they went up 14-0. The Eagles clawed back to make it 14-9, but then Boise State went up 28-9, and it looked like they might run away with it. Georgia Southern had a response, however, and they ended up taking a 30-28 lead.
Boise State then went another big run and they led 56-37 before the Eagles scored a touchdown and went for two to make it 56-45. It was a game of runs.
Now, the Broncos have a massive test against Oregon. The highest-ranked group of five team at the end of the year gets a playoff spot, and if Boise State wins this one, they will be in a great spot.
Saturday night's game between Oregon and Boise State is going to be a fun one, and here are three predictions for it:
Dillon Gabriel will throw for 400+ yards
Expect the Oregon football offense to look more like we expected this week against Boise State. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel had a big game against Idaho as he threw for nearly 400 yards, but that didn't translate to a lot of points. He is going to have another big day through the air as he will throw for over 400 yards, and the Ducks are going to score a lot more, too.
Oregon will score 50 points
If Boise State gave up 45 points to Georgia Southern, Oregon should be able to find a lot of success against this defense. The Ducks have one of the most talented offenses in the country, and if their o-line can play better this weekend, it should open the door for the offense to thrive. The Ducks will have a nice bounce back this week.
Oregon will win by 30+ points
The spread currently favors Oregon by 19.5 in this game, but the Ducks are going to easily cover that. They didn't play well in week one, and they dropped four spots in the rankings because of that. This Oregon team wants to prove to the country that they are who we all thought they were in the offseason, and they are going to look much better on Saturday night.
Oregon and Boise State will kick off in week two at 10:00 ET from Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. The game will be streaming on Peacock, and the Ducks are currently favored by 19.5 points.
