Oregon football is on their third head coach in three years but the Ducks remain confident as they begin their 2018 season against Bowling Green.
Bowling Green wasn’t exactly showing shades of their successes under, Syracuse-coach, Dino Babers and, Wake Forest-coach, Dave Clawson. The Eagles finished 2-10 (2-6 MAC) and allowed an average of 38 ppg which was bottom ten in the FBS. One silver lining from last season was the emergence of Jarret Doege who didn’t win them a ton of games but gave Bowling Green stability at quarterback. If the Eagles want to be on top of the MAC at the end of the year, it all starts with Doege.
The Oregon Ducks are currently under their third coach in as many years in Mario Cristobal. This was a good hire in that they can finally have some stability at head coach for more than one season. The loss of running back Royce Freeman won’t be easily overlooked but the return of quarterback Justin Herbert is uplifting for an offense that looked lost without him a year ago. Oregon’s defense retained coordinator Jim Leavitt who took a 2016 Ducks defense that finished as the 126th ranked total defense and turned them into the 46th ranked total defense in 2017.
With the long college football drought finally over, let’s look into the fun matchup between Oregon and Bowling Green.
Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Location: Eugene, OR
Venue: Autzen Stadium
TV: Pac12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Live
Players to Watch
Oregon
- QB, Justin Herbert
- RB’s, Tony Brooks-James and CJ Verdell
- WR, Dillon Mitchell
- DT, Jordan Scott
- DE’s, Austin Faoliu and Jalen Jelks
Bowling Green
- QB, Jarret Doege
- RB, Andrew Clair
- WR, Scott Miller
- LB, Brandon Harris
- CB’s, Montre Gregory and Cameron Jefferies
Keys to Victory
Bowling Green needs Jarret Doege to be all he can be while the secondary makes plays. Doege has to continue to progress from where he was at the end of last season and continue to develop. Oregon’s defense isn’t exactly Clemson or Auburn, but they aren’t a pushover either so Doege is going to need to be efficient by getting the ball to receiver Scott Miller and receiving back Andrew Clair. The Eagles are inexperienced in the front seven but have multiple players back in the secondary. If corners Montre Gregory and Cameron Jefferies can force Justin Herbert to make turnovers then they might have a shot.
Oregon’s Keys to victory are very simple. First, let Justin Herbert play like Justin Herbert. There’s a reason Herbert is looking to be an early first-rounder next season and that is because the Ducks look so good when he’s got the ball in his hands. Secondly, utilize Tony Brooks-James and CJ Verdell. The Bowling Green front seven loses four members from its atrocious 2017 cast and likely won’t e able to stop the run. Lastly, hold Jarret Doege in check. Doege is only a sophomore so getting that strong defensive front into the Bowling Green backfield will do wonders to rattle a young quarterback and cause him to make mistakes.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of Oddshark
Points Spread: Oregon -28.5
Over/Under: 69
Prediction
It’s Oregon. Oregon’s offense is so good under Justin Herbert and the Bowling Green defense isn’t anywhere near good enough to stop them from scoring. Expect the running game for the Ducks to run wild while the defense keeps the Eagles in check from start to finish.
Final Score: Oregon 49 Bowling Green 17