It’s impossible to predict how a college football season will go, through the beginning, middle, and end. But, I don’t think anyone expected the Oregon Ducks’ 2024 season to start the way it did against the Idaho Vandals. The Ducks won the game, 24-14, but they looked flat. Now, they have a chance to get their season back on track against Boise State this weekend.
Unlike the Idaho Vandals, the Boise State Broncos don’t have an extensive history against Oregon. The two teams met for the first time in 2008, and they’ve played twice since then in 2009 and 2017. The Broncos are 3-0 in those games.
Oregon finished the 2008 and 2009 seasons with 10-3 records, which is impressive after falling to a Group of Five opponent so early in the season. 2008 was capped off with a Holiday Bowl win over Oklahoma State, and in 2009 Oregon lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. A year later, the Ducks made it to the BCS National Championship game, where they lost to Auburn.
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2017 was the last time the Ducks played the Broncos, and it was a tumultuous year for Oregon. The Ducks finished 7-6, losing to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was Willie Taggart’s first and only season as head coach of the Ducks, and he left for Florida State before Oregon’s Bowl game. The Ducks Las Vegas Bowl loss was Mario Cristobal’s first game as Oregon’s head coach.
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Staring down the fourth game between these two schools, Oregon doesn’t have an easy task ahead of them. Boise State is one the top unranked teams right now in college football, and they are the favorite of many to secure the group of five’s bid to the College Football Playoff this season.
The Ducks are 18.5-point favorites in this week’s game, but with how they looked against Idaho, they’ll need to look like a team reborn this weekend to cover that spread. Still, Oregon has a great chance to open up their season 2-0 and log their first-ever win against the Boise State Broncos.
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