Oregon football has hopes of competing for a Pac-12 crown this year. It takes on Portland State in an intrastate showdown on Saturday in Eugene.
Now on their third head coach in three seasons, the Oregon Ducks are hoping that Mario Cristobal is the right guy to lead them back to Pac-12 glory. The Ducks are trying to put the past few seasons in the rearview mirror and get back to national prominence. They currently sit at No. 23 in the AP Top 25.
There probably isn’t much room to climb this week, with FCS Portland State traveling down the I-5 for the in-state showdown at Autzen Stadium. Oregon will look to get a big game from quarterback Justin Herbert and settle the running game that looked underdeveloped against Bowling Green in the opener.
Portland State, meanwhile, is currently 0-1 on the year. The Vikings opened their 2018 season with a 72-19 beatdown on the road at the hands of Nevada. Davis Alexander finished 13-of-32 for 224 yards, throwing two touchdowns and an interception against the Wolfpack. The Vikings struggled to run the ball as well, finishing with 107 yards on 43 carries.
Against a Group of Five opponent, the Vikings gave up 636 yards of offense. Oregon isn’t as high-octane as they once were under Chip Kelly, but the Ducks will still be able to take advantage of their size and talent advantages over their lower-tier opponent.
It will be another fun day at Autzen Stadium for the home crowd in attendance. Here’s how you can watch the Saturday game between Oregon and Portland State:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 8
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Venue: Autzen Stadium
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Live | FuboTV
Keys to Victory
For Oregon, they basically need to just make sure to stay out of their own way against the Vikings. In the win over Bowling Green, the Ducks coughed up three turnovers on the day. Working in Oregon’s favor, though, was the fact that they committed just three penalties all game. If they can remain disciplined, Oregon could end up as the highest-scoring team in the country in Week 2 play.
For Portland State to have any chance at all against the flagship school in the state, they basically have to play a perfect game and hope absolutely everything melts down for the Ducks. They need a highly-efficient game from Alexander at quarterback, the run game needs to break out, and the defense must contain all of Oregon’s multitude of offensive weapons.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Point Spread: N/A
Over/Under: N/A
Prediction
Oregon has won all four previous meetings against Portland State. In the first three contests between 1994 and 2006, the Ducks won by an average of six touchdowns per game. The last meeting, in 2010, ended in a 69-0 Oregon shutout victory. This year, Portland State will manage to put some points on the scoreboard. But it won’t matter in the end, as Oregon’s offense proves too potent for Portland State to handle.
Final Score: Oregon 66, Portland State 19