Oregon Already Getting Disrespected by ESPN After Week 1 Win

Oregon had a very strange opening game on Saturday against Boise State. I think some are forgetting that Boise State is one of the better teams in the country, and while Oregon could have and should have played better, there's a very good scenario in which Boise State is a playoff team. We have to remember that at the end of the day, especially with Oregon still winning this game, the defense stepped up when needed. 

However, it still feels like Oregon could have played much better on both sides of the ball, and it's raised some questions. In fact, ESPN is already questioning Oregon so much that it has placed the Ducks at No. 8 in the country after they opened as a top-five team.

“The Ducks don't exactly look like a title contender just yet. Despite having one of the tougher matchups of the week in Boise State (which should probably be ranked and is likely to make the playoff), Oregon stumbled out of the gates, going down 17-7 at one point and making several mind-boggling mistakes -- be it the 10 penalties for 90 yards or the muffed punt turnover that gave the Broncos momentum. 

“Regardless, Dan Lanning's team still showed flashes of why it's expected to be great. On an off day without its best stuff, the Ducks were still able to stitch together nearly 500 yards of offense and did enough to escape Week 1 with a win they can also use to their advantage going forward,” Paolo Uggetti wrote.

I don't really love that Oregon already fell to No. 8 when I assumed this was going to be a top-five team in the country relatively easily. I also don't really agree that Oregon isn't a top-five team in the country after what it did against Boise State. 

Did it play well? Obviously not, but we need some context. It's not like Oregon opened up against one of the worst teams in the country and beat them 55-0. They beat a potential playoff team, and that deserves mention.

If Oregon had lost, I'd get it, but it still won.