This past week, many college football teams across the country received the date and time at which they are set to play their first few games of the season, which has garnered a lot of anticipation for some of the impending matchups. USA Today sportswriter, Paul Myerberg, highlighted what he believes to be the most key matchups of the first slate of games. One of those matchups will come on Sep. 9, between the Oregon Ducks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
One of the key points Myerberg made about the matchup is that Texas Tech is coming off of an eight-win season, which was head coach Joey Maguire’s first season with the Red Raiders. The situation is similar in Eugene, as head coach Dan Lanning enters his second season with the Ducks, hoping to build off of his ten-win debut season.
The game will be played in Lubbock, Texas, and it will be Oregon’s first road game of the 2023 season. Going into a hostile environment — especially one in Texas — to start the season is never easy, and while the Ducks will be the favorites to come out on top, Texas Tech should make it a tough game to win.
Of the Ducks’ first five games, Myerberg sees this matchup as Oregon’s toughest test, even though he still expects them to win the game, and begin the season 5-0.
In 2022, the Red Raiders’ offensive struggled, particularly on the O-line, and they didn’t seem to improve upon that weakness too much this offseason. This game should be a chance for the Oregon defense, which has been described as much more physical than they were in 2022, to exploit Texas Tech’s O-line and get to the quarterback.
After facing Portland State in week one, the Red Raiders could shellshock the Ducks early, as the level of competition will be noticeably elevated from week one to week two. Still, the Ducks have a strong combination of talent and experience returning in 2023 that should hopefully carry them to victory in this game to start the season 2-0.