While we're still digesting exactly what happened last night, Circa Sportsbook has already released their college football Week 2 betting lines.
In doing so, they've posted their line for Oregon vs Idaho State, which has Oregon as a 20 point favorite. Based on what we saw in the Ducks' opener, that feels generous. But is it?
Oregon opens as a 20 point favorite over Boise State according to @CircaSports
— Justin Hopkins (@JHopkinsSD) September 1, 2024
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/dHlz88mJhz
Boise State comes into the game having barely escaped a loss to the Georgia Southern Eagles, but one man announced his name to the rest of the country: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State's star running back.
His final rushing stat line from the game: 20 carries, 267 yards, six touchdowns. That's 13.35 yards per cary.
Jeanty stands at 5'9" 216 lbs, has elite vision, breakaway speed, a willingness to run through defenders, and might just be the best running back in the entire country.
RB1 doing RB1 things.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) August 31, 2024
Ashton Jeanty in 1st half today: 12/146/4 pic.twitter.com/H6H1RK1ECX
Jeanty had a long run of 77 yards. He had five runs that went for 10+ yards. The run concepts were almost evenly split between gap and zone, and 161 of his 267 rushing yards came after contact. He forced 11 missed tackles on 20 attempts.
He's good. He's really good. He's far and away the best player that the Boise State Broncos have, and for Oregon's defense, slowing him down is going to be the key to success. Oregon will need to control the line of scrimmage and not give him any lanes to run through, because the smallest of crease is enough for him to be off to the races. Oregon also can't afford to let him break tackles. Wrapping up and playing fundamental football will be crucial.
Boise State has plenty of holes elsewhere on the roster that Oregon can exploit. Their secondary is a weak spot on the roster that offensive coordinator Will Stein and quarterback Dillon Gabriel simply have to attack. Gabriel has to push the ball down the field, unlike he did in Week 1, where 40 of his 49 pass attempts were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind it. Let the playmakers like Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart out of the stables and let them go to work down the field.
After what we saw in Week 1, I'm not confident that the Ducks will win this one by three touchdowns, but I'd love to be proven wrong. Dominate the game and get back to looking like the powerhouse that you're trying to establish yourself as.
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