The Portland State Vikings take on the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday, Sept. 18. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.
Oregon is favored by 56.5 points on the spread. The total is set at 68.5 points.
Here’s my Portland State vs. Oregon prediction and college football pick for Friday, September 18.
Portland State vs Oregon Prediction
- Portland State vs. Oregon Pick: Oregon Team Total Over 64.5
My Oregon vs. Portland State best bet is on the Ducks to score over 62.5 points. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page. Make sure to download the Action Network app for more picks and analysis!
Portland State vs Oregon Odds
| Portland State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+56.5 -102 | 68.5 -106o / -114u | |
| Oregon Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-56.5 -120 | 68.5 -106o / -114u | |
- Portland State vs Oregon point spread: Oregon -56.5 (-120), Portland State +56.5 (-102)
- Portland State vs Oregon over/under: 68.5 (-106o / -114u)
Portland State vs Oregon College Football Preview
Portland State Vikings Betting Preview: Brick By Brick
Chris Fisk has a major rebuild on his hands as this Portland State team has been stuck at the bottom of the Big Sky Conference since their magical 2015 season, when the Vikings qualified for the FCS playoffs and registered the largest FCS victory over an FBS team (by margin of victory) in recorded subdivision history.
Fisk has upgraded the offensive talent, giving the Vikings a pair of competent passing options in Gabe Downing and Tyrese Smith, and the offense has been much more productive than we saw last year. Delon Thompson has been a reliable running back, and Portland State has three reliable receivers who can stretch the field.
The Vikings returned just one starter from last season’s dreadful defense, and this year’s stop unit has struggled badly. Portland State has allowed 7.1 yards per play and 100 combined points over the past two games in losses against North Dakota and San Diego State.
This defense does not have the talent to provide resistance to any of the teams on the schedule and has already faced 16 red zone trips against them this season. Both San Diego State and North Dakota left points on the field last week, and those scores could have been much more lopsided.
I would not trust this Vikings stop-unit to scheme it up against the Ducks on Friday night, and Oregon should threaten to score on every possession.
Oregon Ducks Betting Preview: Looking Inward
Oregon received all it bargained for and then some in the season opener against Boise State.
On paper, Oregon was thought to have a talent disparity capable of overwhelming the Broncos in the trenches, but for long stretches, it was Oregon on the ropes against America’s flagship G6 program.
Last week’s result was exponentially more stunning as the Ducks lost outright as 24-point favorites to a reeling Oklahoma State team that looked disjointed in its season opener.
Oregon appeared disinterested, with consistent alignment problems and a lack of effort on several plays.
The ground game was ineffective, and poor offensive line play resulted in four sacks. Oregon was thought to have top-10 level offensive and defensive lines in college football, but these two units have looked like middling P4 units through two weeks.
There is a lot of soul-searching going on in the Oregon locker room right now, starting with head coach Dan Lanning and his coaching staff.
Dante Moore has played decent football while completing 63% of his passes with five touchdown passes, and he is spreading the ball around to his three explosive receivers. Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore have all been involved, although the ground game has been pedestrian and the offensive line has struggled in pass protection.
Getting the offensive line to play better will unlock better efficiency for the Ducks offense.
The defense has to play better in early downs while creating more Havoc, with the defensive line posting just one tackle-for-loss against Oklahoma State and the secondary being picked apart.
The coaching staff will challenge this defense this week, and I expect a much better performance against Portland State and throughout the rest of the season.
Portland State vs Oregon Pick, Betting Analysis
This line opened with Oregon listed as a betting favorite by 56.5 points, with a total set at 68.5.
I am going to play Oregon’s team total Over 62.5.
The Ducks offense is much more potent and explosive than they have shown up to this point. Oregon has a full complement of field-stretching receivers, and quarterback Dante Moore will find them in space on Friday night.
Portland State has a very weak secondary, and this defense will provide very little resistance along the defensive line. The Ducks need to work on getting the run fits and pass protection right before their showdown with USC next week, so I expect a full-go of it for three quarters from the starting platoon.
The run game is going to gash Portland State, and we should finally start to see the Explosiveness out of Oregon that has been missing this season. Portland State has been poor defensively in early downs and should struggle here. I would imagine that several of the scoring drives for Oregon will not require more than six plays.
Oregon has a tremendous special teams advantage, and I expect that to show up here.
Portland State has already surrendered two kickoff return touchdowns this season, and punt protection has also been a problem with a pair of blocked punts already given up.
I fully expect Oregon to take advantage on special teams, and the Ducks will realize explosive returns with field-flipping consequences for Portland State.
The performance has not looked as expected for Oregon this season, but this is an opportunity to get the juices flowing and erase the pain of the loss against Oklahoma State.
This will feel like a scrimmage on Friday night, but Lanning is taking the game and his weekly preparation very seriously for Portland State.
I expect Oregon to score a ton of points on Friday night.
Pick: Oregon Team Total Over 64.5 or Better
