Oregon (0-0) opens its 2021 season on Saturday when they host Fresno State (1-0) for an 11:00 am kickoff at Autzen Stadium. The DSA staff of A.J. Jacobson, Brandon Gibson, Dale Newton and Scott Reed has gathered once again to prognosticate this season’s games starting with this weekend’s matchup.

Jacobson

Last week Fresno State manhandled the Connecticut Huskies 45-0, amassing 538 total yards and holding UConn to 107. But no offense to the Huskies’ players, that team is very bad. Not much can be taken away from it aside from knowing that the FSU coaching staff has their team ready to go for the season.

But just looking at talent alone, the Ducks should be and are big favorites on Saturday. It is probable that Fresno would have loved to have landed any one of the recruits the Ducks have on scholarship. Across the board personnel-wise, Oregon should be anywhere from slightly to way better than the guy lined up across from him.

Oregon will make some mistakes this being their first game, but in the end I see them winning by more than the spread. With a pronounced advantage in manpower, it would take severe breakdowns to lose and I don’t see that happening.

Oregon 44 - Fresno State 20

Reed

While Fresno State looked good on paper in their opener against UCONN, that is a bit misleading because the Huskies are one of the worst teams in college football; they are bad enough to go winless. But the Bulldogs do have a former Pac-12 quarterback in Jake Haener and talent on the edges that will absolutely test the Ducks defensive backfield in the season opener for Oregon.

The real key for Fresno State is not going to be whether or not Haener is accurate; or whether his receivers have the ability to get open and catch passes; instead the key for the Bulldogs will be how well the offensive line can contain the pass rush of Oregon.

Offensively, I think Oregon just has too much size and talent all around to be contained. In went with Oregon in my early prediction, so I will stick with the

Oregon 38 - Fresno State 17

Newton

Three touchdown favorites rarely lose, but I don't think Oregon covers on Saturday.

Autzen Stadium will be no more than 2/3 full and unusually muted for a home opener.

Fresno has the advantage of a confidence-boosting Week Zero game, a valuable opportunity to iron out communication, find its offensive rhythm and gain teaching points. They return 20 of 22 starters from a year ago, including accurate Jake Haener at quarterback and tailback Ronnie Rivers.

By contrast, the Ducks are breaking in a new starting quarterback and several new starters on defense. They're untested on one side of the secondary.

The Bulldogs don't have the talent to stay with Oregon for four quarters, but I expect they'll get off to a smoother start. If Brown and the offense have a couple of early three and outs or a turnover, the undersized crowd will get restless, more so if Camden Lewis misses a field goal.

Oregon 34 - Fresno State 24

Gibson

Fresno State may have looked like world beaters in their first game, Vegas isn’t fooled by a 45-0 shellacking of a hapless UConn team that took last year off. Fresno State will be a respectable Mountain West team this season, but there is a reason why the line is still around three touchdowns in favor of the Ducks.

Oregon may hold back a tad on offense in this game, but I still see them winning comfortably, as the talent discrepancy is quite large. Fresno State won’t face a defense like this for the rest of their season, and if the Duck offense finds a rhythm, this one could get ugly fast. I’d expect a hiccup here and there for the Ducks, along with some big game breaking plays, and finally a return to the positive side of the turnover column.

Oregon 42 – Fresno State 24