After beating up on Portland State, 81-7, the Oregon football team moved up to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week. It was tough to extract much from a game with a 74-point margin of victory, other than the fact that Oregon’s offense is dominant.

Week 2 presents a greater obstacle than the Vikings. Oregon is just a touchdown (-6.5) favorite over Texas Tech, which is surprising as the Red Raiders opened their season losing to Wyoming. But they’re built to combat the Ducks as they have a tough defense that will look to contain Oregon’s potent offense when the teams meet up in Lubbock on Saturday.

A year after leading Oregon in rushing touchdowns, Bo Nix didn’t record any carries in the Ducks 2023 opener. He didn’t have to. Texas Tech’s pass rush will force Nix to improvise more than he had to last week, and it will be interesting to see if those improvisations turn into throws on the run, scrambles, or tucking the ball and gaining a few yards.

There’s no question he has the talent to replicate the running prowess he produced last year. But it’s a long season and Oregon may be preserving Nix’s running ability more than it did last year, or protecting him from injury after he suffered one at a crucial juncture in 2022.