Boise State Broncos at Oregon Ducks (Saturday – 3:30pm ET)
I’ve developed into a pretty consistent Boise State backer over the years. I liked them to win the Mountain West last year, and they miraculously got it done, winning the conference for the third consecutive season. This season, I’m back on the Broncos to win their new conference — the PAC-12.
Boise could wind up the favorite in 11 games this season, including all of their conference matchups. However, things get off to a tough start in Week 1 with a road trip to Eugene to face a Ducks roster that many believe is the best in the nation. Oregon has a young roster loaded with top-end talent on both sides of the ball. The Ducks are almost certainly among the best teams in the country, but are they four scores better than the Broncos?
You’ll recall these teams met in September a couple years back — a Week 2 matchup on Oregon’s home field. Boise closed as a 19-point underdog, and probably should’ve won the game outright. Ultimately, the Ducks kicked a game-winning field goal to sneak by, 37-34. Yes, Ashton Jeanty rushed for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns in that one, but the Broncos have a pretty similar team.
Maddux Madsen, who was the QB for Boise in its last trip to Eugene, is back as one of the most veteran signal callers in the country. He’ll line up behind a strong and experienced offensive line. When I had Phil Steele on the DraftKings Network Daily Bets podcast over the summer, he told me he expects the Broncos to have two 1,000-yard rushers in their backfield.
Boise State will have its hands full on defense, but I do feel they can put up some points in this game. I have not ultimately fired on the side or total, but lean to the underdog Broncos hanging in there. This one won’t come down to the wire like 2024, but Boise can be competitive and do enough for me lean to them and the over in the game.
CFB Lean: Boise State +24.5 (-105)/OVER 51.5 (-112)
