Coming off a stunning loss on the road, the Oregon Ducks have some soul searching to do. In the first two games of the season, the Ducks have looked out of sync on both sides of the ball, and it finally caught up to them last week.
A 39-31 loss to Oklahoma State saw the Ducks plummet from No. 6 to No. 21 in the AP Poll, and Dan Lanning took accountability for the poor performance. The Ducks are turning the page again this week, but with a shorter week of practice ahead, there is less time to self-scout and fix some of their big problems. But Oregon might be able to build some confidence against an inferior opponent.
Oregon will host Portland State on Friday night, and the oddsmakers are expecting the Ducks to break out in a big way. FanDuel Sportsbook
opened the betting line with the Ducks as 58.5-point favorites over the Vikings, with the over/under set at a whopping 65.5 points. Oregon's offense has struggled to put up points so far this season, but this could be the game to set the unit right.
The 58.5-point spread is the largest in favor of the Ducks under Lanning. Oregon has only been favored by at least 50 points one other time under Lanning, holding a 50.5-point spread over Idaho in 2024, which the Ducks failed to cover, winning 24-14.
The Ducks haven't played Portland State since 2023, when the Bo Nix-led offense set the modern program record with 81 points. Oregon has won all six matchups between the programs by a large margin, so this is a chance for the Ducks to build confidence before heading to USC the following week.
All eyes will be on coordinators Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton to right some wrongs this week and live up to the point spread that has been set, which undoubtedly counts on the Ducks scoring early and often.
Oregon and Portland State will kick off on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m. PT with the game airing live on Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks open as 8-TD favorites over Portland State
