BYU Cougars vs. Oregon Ducks: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 9/17/2022

Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR

Where to watch: FOX

DraftKings: Oregon -3.5

FanDuel: Oregon -3.5

BetMGM: Oregon -3.5

Caesars: Oregon -3.5

No. 12 BYU: 2-0 

No. 25 Oregon: 1-1

BYU: won 26-20 (2OT) vs. No. 9 Baylor

Oregon: won 70-14 vs. Eastern Washington

I refuse to believe in the Oregon Ducks anymore, and I could care less that they’re at home for this top-25 matchup against the BYU Cougars. If BYU doesn’t roll to victory in this one, what are we even doing? Because I don’t care if the Ducks won 70-14 last week against Eastern Washington, of all teams.

They’re still not good enough to handle tough defenses and more sound teams like BYU. Just look at how they got manhandled by Georgia in Week 1. Yes, the defending national champions should be the barometer that everyone should abide by. Yes, it shouldn’t be expected that Oregon would win that game.

But if you want to take the Ducks seriously, find a way to get in the end zone and don’t make your players look like they’re munchkins against grown men. And right now, Oregon looks that way heading into this matchup with BYU.

The Cougars are off to a strong 2-0 start with wins over South Florida and Baylor, the latter being one of the more impressive wins in the Kalani Sitake era. It’s not that Baylor is expected to be the best team in the Big 12 this year, and the Bears might be that. But BYU was in need of a toughness game, and they got that. Jaren Hall outplayed Blake Shapen by a great deal; the electrifying quarterback Hall threw for 261 yards and a touchdown, while also running for 28 more. 

The BYU defense accounted for four sacks and held the Baylor rushing attack to less than three yards per carry. In short, that’s one hell of a dominant run at the defensive line.

"That's a tough defense right there," said BYU running back Lopini Katoa, who finished with 26 yards on nine carries. "They pride themselves on stopping the run. They do a great job at it. Me and Chris (Brooks) both knew we were going to have to scratch and claw for every yard."

It’s been a while since there was this much excitement for BYU with the Cougars closing in on a top-10 ranking. They can make it happen against an Oregon team that might be more finesses than bite. If that’s the case, then this is going to be a long afternoon for Oregon.

BYU dominated in the run game, and if you can do that, that takes away all Oregon can do because Bo Nix surely isn’t winning you any football games by himself.

"We love it when the fans get excited, especially after a big win like that, but for us our minds are all on Oregon now and preparing the same way we do every week," BYU offensive lineman Connor Pay said. "After a very emotional win, we regroup, refocus and prepare the way we know how. As long as we do what we're coached to do, then we'll be okay and be ready to play."

The Cougars are just a tougher team, and the Ducks will need to rely on big plays in order to keep things going. Unsure if that can happen, but if you’re looking at it from the standpoint of which team will dominate at the line of scrimmage, trust BYU will get that done. BYU by 21

BYU is 67-54 ATS as an underdog since 1992.

BYU is 6-2 ATS in its last eight September games.

BYU is 14-7 ATS after an ATS win the last three seasons.

Passing: Jaren Hall -- 522 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Chris Brooks -- 196 yards, 1 TD

Receiving: Chase Roberts -- 183 yards, 1 TD

Passing: Bo Nix -- 450 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT

Rushing: Sean Dollars -- 91 yards

Receiving: Troy Franklin -- 118 yards, 1 TD