These first games of the college football season are supposed to be cupcakes. They're easy wins in order to get ready for the real competition coming up later on down the line.
Don't tell that to Oregon, and don't tell that to Boise State.
The Ducks know all too well that the Broncos are very capable of coming into Autzen Stadium on Saturday and shocking the college football world with an upset over No. 2 Oregon. They just need to look at the game from two seasons ago to know an upset is very possible.
In that game, Boise State actually had a brief seven-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Ducks eventually won thanks to a field goal with no time remaining from Atticus Sappington to win 37-34. Oregon knows it will have to play a better all-around
game this time in order to avoid a scare.
"They're certainly aware of it. I think they have a lot of respect for Boise State," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said on his team knowing how dangerous the Broncos can be. "There's a reason this team's been so successful over so many years. It's really an identity program, and they have a great identity, but a lot of our guys on our team were a part of that game. They remember that game. They remember how tight it was, and again, it could have gone a lot of different ways. So they're familiar with it. They're excited to play somebody else, but it's going to be about who executes the best and performs to their capabilities."
Boise State still has quarterback Maddux Madsen behind center, who was 17-of-40 passing for just 148 yards and a touchdown in that first game against Oregon. Now he's a senior and a bit more polished than he was in 2024 and the Ducks know that better have things in gear on defense to slow Madsen down.
Someone who was not in that game, but watching from the sidelines, is current Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. Although he wasn't on the field, Moore had a front-row seat and saw what the Boise State defense is all about. He said there are some lessons the offense can learn from that contest in 2024 and hopefully everything will go the Ducks' way.
"Yeah, that was a great team that we played, still the same coaching staff. Of course, give them the credit," Moore said. "That game was just a learning moment for the offense, just to start fast as the offense. Just going out there, not getting punched in the mouth, but going out there and just doing what the coaches are teaching us this whole week. It’s an opportunity for us to go out there and start fast, learn from the mistakes, the coverages they do and things, so it's a great game to look back at and learn a lot from."
On the defensive side, Oregon won't have to account for running back Ashton Jeanty, who is currently playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was one of the better running backs in the country at the time and burned the Ducks for 197 yards and three touchdowns. In this game, Boise State will go with a two-headed monster of tailbacks Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines. Although those two are not of the stature of Jeanty, that doesn't mean the Duck defense can rest on their laurels.
"They're both guys that could play on any team that we play this season. They're really, really talented," Lanning said. "They've got change of speed, and they have proven to be really good backs. They've recruited well at back, and again, they have explosive ability when it comes to the run game, and then those guys also catch the ball well out of the backfield. And I think that's one of the things that makes Boise tough to prep for is they can throw it to their tight ends, they throw it to their backs, they throw it to their wideouts. Their runs look like their screens. Their their passes same as. So they just complement each other really well with the way they play and prep."
Again, not your typical Week 1 opponent. The Ducks might have their hands full on Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon learns lessons from the last time Boise State came to Autzen
