No love for the Ducks: CBS Sports analysts unanimous in Oregon-BYU picks
Oregon against the world.
The crew on CBS Sports Network shared their thoughts on the upcoming Oregon-BYU game, and every person on set picked the Cougars to come into Eugene and beat the Ducks. As of publication, the Ducks are a 3.5-point favorite in the game at FanDuel’s sportsbook.
But the group of Brian BJ Jones, Aaron Taylor, Randy Cross, and Rick Neuheisel are all picking the Cougars.
“Oregon’s got issues,” said Cross. “The last three times they’ve played ranked opponents, they’ve scored less than seven points and they’re averaging about 245 yards in those three games. And you’re playing a team like BYU, highly disciplined, highly physical. I know it’s at Oregon, I know it’s at home, that’s the reason SportsLine has it so close, but I think BYU takes them out.”
Every single one of our talent, @AaronTaylorCFB, @randycrossFB, @CoachNeuheisel and @JonesN4mo are choosing No. 12 @BYUfootball over No. 25 Oregon. pic.twitter.com/dOnVgVWk3v
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 14, 2022
It needs to be pointed out that Oregon’s last three games against ranked opponents have been the Georgia game to open the 2022 season, the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma to close the 2021 season, and the Pac-12 title game against Utah last December. The opener against the Bulldogs is the only time during that stretch Oregon was held under seven points.
The Ducks scored 32 points against the 14th-ranked Sooners and 10 points in the Pac-12 title game against then-14th-ranked Utah. They also had almost 500 yards of offense in the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma. The average yardage gained across the three games is 343, not “about 245.”
But it is true that Oregon has not had a good record — the only thing that matters — against ranked opponents of late. The Ducks have lost four straight to ranked teams and five of seven dating back to the start of the 2020 season.
A 70-14 win over Eastern Washington this past Saturday provided some momentum and some confidence moving into another top-25 matchup. First-year head coach Dan Lanning has been done no favors in his debut season. The Bulldogs ascended to the top spot in the AP Top 25 this week. A week after giving up only three points to Oregon, Georgia allowed less than 130 yards of offense in a 33-0 shutout of Samford. That’s a good team.
As is BYU.
“Our guys executed at a high level on Saturday,” Lanning said Monday. “We need that to carry over for the next game.”
Perhaps all the folks writing them off after Week 1 can provide some fuel to the fire.
Kickoff between No. 25 Oregon (1-1) and No. 12 BYU (2-0) is set for 12:35 p.m. PT on FOX this Saturday.