Oregon vs. Portland State: ‘Tale of the Tape’ for No. 15 Ducks vs. Vikings
Members of the Oregon Ducks are looking forward to hitting someone not wearing green and yellow this weekend, and fans of the Oregon Ducks are looking forward to watching some football.
Media members who cover the Oregon Ducks are just happy that we will have something other than finite periods of practice to analyze for a change.
That starts right now by looking ahead to Saturday’s game against the Portland State Vikings. While it’s a lopsided affair that the Ducks are projected to win by a large margin, we still can take a deeper dive into the matchup and see where the biggest strengths and weaknesses are that either team might be able to exploit.
I am happy to bring our ‘Tale of the Tape’ series out of storage and knock the dust off. So when you look at the tape and get into the numbers, which team is expected to have an advantage? Let’s take a look, using numbers from last season to project ahead.
QB Bo Nix vs. QB Dante Chachere
(Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
Breaking down the quarterback matchup based on 2022 stats:
Nix | vs | Chachere |
6-3 | Ht | 6-3 |
214 | Wt | 200 |
Senior | Class | Junior |
294 | Comp (’22) | 148 |
409 | Att (’22) | 248 |
71.9 | Comp % | 60.0 |
3,593 | Yards (’22) | 1,956 |
8.8 | YPA (’22) | 7.9 |
29-7 (43 total TD) | TD-INT (’22) | 19-8 (26 total TD) |
Edge: Bo Nix
Analysis: It’s not hard to see the large disparity in stats between Nix and Chachere. No disrespect to the Portland State QB, who has had some success in his career, but Nix is in a different class, and is a Heisman contender for a reason.
Oregon RBs vs. Portland State RBS
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Breaking down Oregon’s backfield and Portland State’s backfield based on 2022 stats:
Oregon | vs | PSU |
Irving | Malary | |
Whittington | McGee | |
James | Craig | |
342 | Att | 148 |
2,032 | Yards | 797 |
5.9 | YPC | 5.4 |
15 | TDs | 5 |
5 | 100-yard games | 0 |
Edge: Oregon
Analysis: It’s not as fair when one team is more pass-heavy than the other, but the Ducks are still clearly the team with the edge in the running game. It also doesn’t help when the QB is your No. 1 rusher — Chachere had 67 attempts for 712 yards and 7 TD in 2022 — but still, the trio of Bucky Irving, Noah Whittington, and Jordan James take the cake.
Oregon Pass Catchers vs. Portland State Pass Catchers
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Breaking down the receiving corps based on stats from 2022:
Oregon | vs | PSU |
Franklin | Bennett | |
Cota | Kelly | |
Ferguson | Talalemotu | |
Hutson | Griffin | |
229 | Target | 224 |
173 | Rec | 128 |
75.5 | Catch % | 57.1 |
2,252 | Yards | 1,792 |
13.0 | YPR | 14.0 |
17 | TDs | 15 |
Edge: Oregon
Analysis: Again, the Ducks have an edge here, though it’s not as big as with the QB or RBs. With Troy Franklin leading the way, Oregon should be even better at WR this year now that Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, and Gary Bryant have been added to the mix.
When Oregon has the ball
(AP Photo/Andy Nelson)
Ranking Comparison (FBS Ranking)
Oregon vs. Portland State
Passing Offense | 291.5 (16th) | N/A | Passing Defense |
Rushing Offense | 216.2 (14th) | N/A | Rushing Defense |
Total Offense | 507.8 (4th) | N/A | Total Defense |
Scoring Offense | 39.7 (8th) | N/A | Scoring Defense |
Points Per Play | 0.525 (11th) | N/A | Points Per Play |
When Oregon is on Defense
Ranking Comparison (FBS Ranking)
Portland State vs. Oregon
Passing Offense | N/A | 260.6 (106th) | Passing Defense |
Rushing Offense | N/A | 125.5 (31st) | Rushing Defense |
Total Offense | N/A | 386.1 (75th) | Total Defense |
Scoring Offense | N/A | 27.42 (76th) | Scoring Defense |
Points Per Play | N/A | 0.401 (78th) | Points Per Play |
Who has the edge?
No disrespect to Portland State, but this shouldn’t at all be a contest on Saturday. That’s what you get when a highly-ranked FBS team hosts an FCS school for an early-season buy game. The Ducks project to be among the best teams in the nation this year, and they could end up contending for a Pac-12 title and College Football Playoff spot by the time the year is over. This season-opener on Saturday will likely be a complete blowout, and anything less will be concerning for the Ducks.
