Two teams with expectations of reaching the expanded College Football Playoff meet in a terrific non-conference game in Week 2 as Boise State of the Mountain West visits No. 3 Oregon late Saturday night, with the Ducks as nearly three-TD favorites on the NCAAF odds.
Boise State vs Oregon Preview and Winning Pick: 2024 NCAAF Expert Analysis
Opening NCAAF Lines Subject to Change: Oregon -18 (total 61) Expert Prediction: Oregon 44, Boise State 30 |
Boise State Broncos +650
Defending Mountain West champion Boise State opened with a 56-45 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday in a wild game. The Eagles were down as many as 19 points but scored on six of seven drives to take the lead before the Broncos’ run game took over, finishing with 372 yards and seven scores.
Ashton Jeanty
Reigning MW Offensive Player of the Year went bonkers as the junior running back notched program records in touchdowns (six) and rushing yards (267). His 267 rushing yards broke a 45-year-old school record of 261 yards, set by Cedric Minter in 1978.
The six rushing touchdowns tied the Mountain West record originally set by Stefphon Jefferson Jr. (Nevada) at Hawaii on Sept. 22, 2012 and matched by Kapri Gibbs (Colorado State) at New Mexico on Nov. 16, 2013. Jeanty’s six rushing touchdowns were the most in the FBS since Israel Abanikanda (Pittsburgh) ran for six scores against Virginia Tech on Oct. 8, 2022. Jeanty recorded his third career 200-yard game, becoming the fifth Bronco in program history to do so.
“This young man is a 10 out of 10 in everything he does,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said of Jeanty. “How he leads this team, how he motivates this team, and how he leads himself on a daily basis. He’s a generational talent-type kid in all facets.”
Boise State averaged 10.6 yards per carry, the most in a single game in program history. Jeanty averaged 13.8 yards per carry, the third-most in a single game in program history. Sire Gaines rushed for 110 yards in the contest, becoming the first Boise State freshman to rush for over 100 yards since Jeanty rushed for 178 yards in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 17, 2022. Boise State averaged 10.6 yards per carry, the most in a single game in program history. The Broncos’ seven rushing touchdowns tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
Maddux Madsen
The QB added a career-high 280 yards in the air as the Broncos totaled 651 yards of offense. It marked the program’s first season-opening victory since 2020 and the first season-opening road victory of the season since 2019. The 56 points the Broncos scored are the most since the program put up 59 against Hawaii on Oct. 12, 2019.
Jonah Dalmas
The kicker became the Mountain West’s all-time scoring leader late in the second quarter as he converted his fourth extra point of the game, the 408th point of his career. Dalmas finished the contest with 410 career points.
The 2024 season marks the first of the expanded College Football Playoff era with a 12-team bracket. The highest-rated conference champion of the Group of 5 will automatically earn a berth into the CFP postseason this year, and several national pundits have projected the Broncos as one of the top teams vying for a spot as they are preseason Mountain West favorites to repeat.
^Oregon Ducks -1099
No. 3 Oregon (1-0) didn’t look all that good at beating FCS school Idaho 24-14 in the season opener. The Vandals were 44-point underdogs, but they stood strong to put a genuine scare into Oregon. They trailed just 14-7 late in the third quarter and were within 17-14 with 9:45 to play before the Ducks were able to secure the victory. In the end, Oregon gutted out its 20th straight home-opening win, extending the nation’s longest nonconference home winning streak to 33 games.
Dillon Gabriel
Oregon transfer quarterback, previously the starter at UCF and Oklahoma, completed 41-of-49 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns, but Idaho’s defense did not break often. The Vandals had four sacks and pressured Gabriel regularly, caused the Ducks to turn the ball over on downs twice and forced a fumble by Gabriel to end another drive.
The 41 completions were a career high by Gabriel, a Heisman favorite, and tied the Oregon single-game record, set by Danny O’Neil against Penn State on Jan. 2, 1995. His completion and yard totals were the most by a quarterback in his Oregon debut, surpassing the previous mark of 27 completions set by A.J. Feeley (1999) and Dan Fouts (1970) while eclipsing Feeley’s 348 yards. Gabriel went over 15,000 career passing yards (15,245), becoming the eighth player in NCAA to reach the milestone. He also moved into seventh place on the career FBS passing yards list, passing Ty Detmer. Gabriel became the seventh player in NCAA history to reach 16,000 career total yards (16,282) and is now tie for second in NCAA history with Sam Hartman with 154 career total touchdowns.
Terrance Ferguson
Tight end Terrance Ferguson set career highs in receptions (7) and yards (87). He went over 1,000 career receiving yards in the game (1,033), becoming the ninth tight end in UO history to do so. Ferguson is now two catches away from joining Ed Dickson (124, 2006-09) and Josh Wilcox (103, 1993-96) as the only Oregon tight ends to reach 100 career.
Oregon’s offensive line, which had to replace two starters including Rimington Trophy winner Jackson Powers-Johnson, allowed three sacks and also contributed to the Ducks’ team total of eight penalties. Overall the Ducks outgained Idaho, 487 yards to 217, running nearly twice as many plays, 87 to 47. However, Oregon’s streak of 14 straight games scoring at least 30 points was snapped as it was OU’s fewest points scored since scoring 20 against Utah on Nov. 19, 2022.
Matayo Uiagalelei
Defensively, the Ducks had two interceptions and improved to 9-1 since the start of last season when winning the turnover battle. They produced four sacks for 26 yards lost, led by 2.0 sacks by DE, and limited Idaho to 49 rushing yards, the fewest rushing yards allowed since Colorado rushed for 40 yards last season (Sept. 23).
^Boise State at Oregon NCAA Football Info
When: Saturday, 10 PM ET
Where: Autzen Stadium
Stream: Peacock
Radio: Tunein.com
Boise State vs Oregon Series history
The schools aren’t located that far apart but have played only three times since 2008 and Boise State won them all, the last 38-28 in December 2017 in the Las Vegas Bowl.
^PICK-SIX!!! Kekaula Kaniho with his second takeaway of the game, returning the pick 53 yards for the score! Boise State leads Oregon, 24-0, with 5:11 left in the half! #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/JdlxTc2CO8
— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) December 16, 2017
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