The AP Top 25 reshuffled after Week 1 and when all the votes were in, Colorado came in at No. 22.
The Buffaloes pulled off one of the week’s biggest upsets on the road against a top-25 TCU team. Now, all eyes are on the Deion Sanders-led squad that’s drawn plenty of attention from bettors heading into a home bout against Nebraska, so much so that the line has moved more than a full touchdown.
Oregon also moved up two spots, to No. 13, after thrashing Portland State on Saturday. The Ducks are listed as road favorites against Texas Tech, which is fresh off an upset loss to Wyoming.
Those two games have our attention, so into Week 2 we go…
Spread: Oregon -6.5 (-110) | Texas Tech +6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: ORE (-275) | TTU (+200)
Total: 68.5 – Over (-120) | Under (-105)
Game Info: Saturday, Sep. 9 | 7 p.m. ET | Fox
Location: Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, TX
Oregon (1–0) was projected to lay waste to FCS Portland State last week as a whopping 48.5-point favorite. The Ducks did more than that in an 81-7 rout that they led 50-7 at halftime. Bo Nix threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, Troy Franklin and Gary Bryant Jr. both topped 100 yards receiving and Bucky Irving took two of his four carries for 50-plus-yard scores.
It was a fine tuneup for Dan Lanning’s team ahead of a road trip to Texas, where more resistance awaits from the Red Raiders. It’s expected to be a barnburner in Lubbock with both teams’ implied totals north of 30 points.
Texas Tech (0–1) suffered a 35-33 double-overtime loss to Wyoming as 13-point favorites in a game it led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter. And don’t let the high score fool you: The game was tied at 20 apiece heading into the first overtime. Tyler Shough finished with 338 passing yards and three touchdowns but Gino Garcia missed two field goals and had another blocked.
The Red Raiders bottled up the Cowboys’ offense, holding them under five yards per pass and to fewer than four yards per rush, but their own shortcomings on that side of the ball are concerning for a team that averaged more than 34 points per game in 2022 despite cycling through quarterbacks.
Nix’s rushing ability could be key for Oregon in this matchup. The fifth-year quarterback didn’t need to make any plays with his legs in the opener but he ran for over 500 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago. Texas Tech was gashed on the ground in some of its worst losses in 2022, including one at Kansas State when the Wildcats tallied 343 rushing yards. The Ducks also had one of the top rushing attacks in the FBS and returned their top three rushers: Irving, Noah Whittington (who did not play Week 1) and Nix.
The Red Raiders will need to go blow for blow with an Oregon offense that has weapons all over and a Heisman candidate at quarterback. Shough can keep Texas Tech in it for a while through the air against the program for which he began his collegiate career, but the Ducks will overpower their opponent on the ground and win by at least a touchdown on the road.
BET: Oregon -6.5 (-120)
