ESPN analysts say Oregon has more of a chance against Georgia than most think
ESPN college football analysts Greg McElry and Sam Acho — both former players — joined College Football Live on Monday to break down Saturday’s mid-day game on ABC. No. 11 Oregon battles No. 3 Georgia at 12:30 p.m. PT in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Georgia.
The game pits the defending national champion against one of the most consistent winners the sport has seen over the last two decades. It pits UGA head coach Kirby Smart against his former defensive coordinator turned Oregon head coach, Dan Lanning. The Ducks are a 17-point underdog in the game, given less than a 10% chance of winning by ESPN’s Football Power Index.
McElroy and Acho both agreed: Oregon has a better chance in the game than people are giving it.
Acho said Lanning’s familiarity with Georgia’s scheme and personnel will help, but the Ducks have something working in their favor that few other teams have.
“The greatest thing about it is Oregon has the talent to stop it,” Acho said. “Talk about guys like Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell, those are two of the best defenders in the country. Some teams couldn’t try to stop Georgia. Oregon at least has the talent to be able to do so.”
McElroy agreed.
“I think the best thing Oregon has working for them is everybody’s saying, ‘They can’t do it, they’re not going to be able to pull it off.’ Guess what? I heard a lot of the exact same conversation last year as they were preparing to head to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes,” he said. “What’d they do? They went there and took care of business.
“Now, you have an improved quarterback. We all think it’s going to be Bo Nix. I don’t think Bo Nix is a Heisman contender, but I think he’s better than what Anthony Brown was last year. you lose a great running back, but if there’s one thing Oregon’s always had it’s talent at running back and talent at wide receiver. I think the culture that was established by the previous regime will be easily transferrable from what Mario Cristobal wants to be to Dan Lanning. And we’re all just assuming that Georgia plugs and plays these defense stars from yesteryear in recruiting. Ultimately, a lot of the guys, yeah, they played last year, but they weren’t in the same role they’re going to be in this year.”