Joel Klatt expecting 'a really tight game' for Oregon against Texas Tech
Joel Klatt expects the Ducks to be challenged in Lubbock this weekend.
No. 13 Oregon heads to Texas on Saturday to face a Texas Tech team that should be angry. The Red Raiders entered the year with some darkhorse buzz in the Big 12 title race but lost in double-overtime in Week 1 to Wyoming. Now, they return home with the chance to pull off a massive upset.
“Texas Tech is just a different team at home,” Klatt said this week on his show. “It’s a tough place to play. Oregon’s gonna find that out. I won’t be surprised at all if this is a really tight game late and Oregon’s thinking to themselves, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening?’ That’s what happens at Texas Tech. They were 6-1 a year ago at home with wins over Texas and Oklahoma. They’re gonna be in this game. They will be in this game.”
"I won't be surprised at all if this is a really tight game late" 👀
Do you agree with @JoelKlatt's break down of Oregon at Texas Tech? pic.twitter.com/gehgLFCaKn
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) September 8, 2023
Oregon won its opener 81-7.
But the Ducks are just a 6.5-point favorite on the road this week.
Watch the run game. Tech ranked 80th nationally a season ago in run defense, giving up 4.3 yards a carry. In the opener, Wyoming ran for 179 yards at 4.3 a carry (adjusted for sacks).
Oregon will provide a much stiffer test. Bucky Irving opened his 2023 campaign with 119 yards and two scores on just four carries — something that made Klatt stop and laugh when he read it. As a team, the Ducks produced 348 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, averaging 10.2 yards a carry.
A year ago, the Ducks had a top-10 rushing outfit. Quarterback Bo Nix gets the headlines for what he’s able to do through the air, but Oregon is as strong a rushing team as there is in college football.
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 4 p.m. PT on FOX.