It has been a wild start to the college football season with plenty of high-profile coaches already fired and expected National Championship threats falling on their faces right out of the gates. But the action continues on the field nonetheless with a packed slate of games across Week 8. Kicking off at 6:30 p.m. ET, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the Oregon Ducks. This will mark the first-ever matchup between these two programs on the football field.
Looking at the odds, Oregon enters as a 17.5-point favorite and holds -800 odds on winning on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. Rutgers holds +550 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at 61.5 points for the matchup.
This article provides a preview of both teams and offers a pick for the Week 8 matchup.
Oregon vs. Rutgers prediction, preview
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks enter this matchup with a 5-1 record, but are looking to bounce back from their 30-20 loss to Indiana last week. Oregon has defeated Montana State, Oklahoma State, Northwestern, Oregon State, and Penn State. They are 3-2-1 against the spread, 3-3 to the over/under, and have won both of their road games so far this season.
Oregon has gotten off to a dominant statistical start to the season, even if the numbers are a bit inflated due to the matchups. They are averaging 42.2 points per game, which ranks ninth in the country, and are producing 464.3 total yards of offense. They have not scored fewer than 20 points in a matchup this season and were not held below 30 until last week’s loss to Indiana. Defensively, they are limiting opponents to 15.2 points per game, which ranks 14th in the country, as well as just 252.8 total yards of offense. This includes only 138.7 passing yards per game. Indiana scored 30 points against them, and Penn State produced 24 points in the double-overtime match, but no other team has tallied more than 14 against the Ducks.
Dante Moore headlines the offensive attack for Oregon at the quarterback position. Moore has completed 72.0% of his passing attempts for 1,396 yards, 15 touchdowns, and three interceptions while adding 95 yards with his legs. Dakorien Moore headlines the wide receiver production with 335 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Malik Benson, Gary Bryant Jr, and Kenyon Sadiq have each also added 225+ yards through he air and combined for 10 total touchdowns. Dierre Hill Jr. and Jayden Limar headline the rushing attack, combining for 516 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Jordon Davison leads the team with seven rushing scores and 150 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Bryce Boettcher leads Oregon with 51 total tackles on the season. Matayo Uiagalelei leads the team with four sacks, and Jerry Mixon offers a team-high two interceptions. As a unit, the Ducks have tallied 26 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, and seven turnovers.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers enters this matchup with a 3-3 record on the season, but is looking to pick itself up from their three consecutive losses. The program opened the year with victories over Ohio, Miami (OH), and Norfolk State, but have dropped the previous three games at the hands of Iowa, Minnesota, and Washington. The Scarlet Knights are 3-3 against the spread on the season and the over has cashed in five of their six games.
Offense has not been a problem for Rutgers as they are putting up 35.7 points per game, 33rd in the country, and adding 443.8 total yards of offense. They have not been held below 19 points this season and have scored 31+ in five of the six games. On the other side of the ball, there is much more reason for concern. The Scarlet Knights are allowing 27.5 points per game, which ranks 92nd, and 385.3 total yards of offense. They have allowed 30+ points in each of the past three games, and even Ohio put 31 points on the board against them in the season opener.
Athan Kaliakmanis headlines the quarterback production for Rutgers. The Minnesota transfer has completed 66.0% of his pass attempts this season for 1,785 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, as well as two touchdowns on the ground. Antwan Raymond leads the team with 560 rushing yards and nine rushing scores while adding 131 yards and a touchdown through the air. Ian Strong has a team-high 36 receptions for 537 yards and two scores at the wide receiver position. KJ Duff leads the team with four receiving touchdowns and adds 479 yards through the air, while DT Sheffield adds 394 receiving yards and three scores of his own.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jett Elad leads the team with 40 tackles. Bradley Weaver headlines the pass-rush with a team-high 2.5 sacks. Rutgers has just nine total sacks and has forced only four turnovers on the year.
Oregon vs. Rutgers pick, best bet
Oregon has been impressive to start the season, and the loss to Indiana said far more about their opponents making a statement for belonging in the upper echelon of college football discussions than it did about the Ducks directly. Regardless, expect them to be hungry to make a statement and be ready to lay it on thick in this matchup.
Rutgers has some hope of putting up some offense, and my lean is toward the over from a point total perspective. But I am backing Oregon to make this a full-scale blowout and cover the 17.5-point spread. It has been a tough recent stretch for Rutgers, which the program surely feels the effects of. Not only has the team lost three straight games, two of which came by 17+ points, but they flew over 1,000 miles to Minneapolis, then back to New Jersey, and then over 3,000 miles to Washington across this stretch. The Scarlet Knights now return home for a test against their toughest opponent thus far and will need to be at the top of their game just to keep things close.
Rutgers plays disciplined football and does a nice job avoiding turnovers, but Oregon is more talented in just about every matchup on the field. Expect Dante Moore to be looking to boost his Heisman stock and put forth an impressive statistical output in the matchup, and he has the defense in front of him to do exactly this. Count on him pushing the scoring total beyond what Rutgers can match and for Oregon’s defense to have success generating stops beyond what has been the case thus far. Oregon has beaten every unranked team they have faced by more than 18 points to this point, and look for this streak to extend against Rutgers.
