Football
ESPN college football analyst Adam Rittenberg predicted each of the first-round College Football Playoff games correctly, choosing the Alabama Crimson Tide, Miami Hurricanes, Ole Miss Rebels and Oregon Ducks to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Saturday, he continued with his predictions — which, if they come to fruition for the second straight round, would spell doom for the Ducks.
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By virtue of their 51-34 victory over the No. 12 James Madison Dukes, Oregon is set to face off against the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders in Miami in the Orange Bowl. Though the Ducks are currently listed as the favorite by 2.5 points despite being ranked No. 5, Rittenberg predicts a different outcome.
He broke down the matchup before providing a scoring prediction.
“The best teams money can buy?” Rittenberg wrote. “Let’s freaking go. No two programs seem to get more flak for what they invest in their rosters than Oregon (hello, Phil Knight) and Texas Tech (howdy, Cody Campbell). But the Red Raiders and Ducks have earned their way to this stage and should deliver an incredible matchup in South Florida. Oregon has the quarterback edge with Dante Moore, who should have more wide receivers at his disposal as he faces a top-five defense in Texas Tech. The matchup of Oregon’s offensive line and Texas Tech’s defensive front should be epic. Even though Oregon has CFP experience, Texas Tech should be able to ride Shiel Wood’s defense and just enough offense to get the W.”
Rittenberg’s score prediction: Texas Tech 23, Oregon 20. His prediction is on point with other national analysts, as the game is seemingly a toss up but considered to be a closely-contested, hard-fought game.
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Both teams enter with 12-1 record, with the Ducks holding a first-round home playoff victory and the Red Raiders taking home the Big 12 national title and claiming a first-round bye.
Objectively, it’s a hard game to predict — but regardless of whether you agree with Rittenberg’s score prediction or not, there are a number of matchups within the game to watch. The Ducks sure hope that they can win those matchups and ultimately come away with the win, surviving and advancing to the CFP semifinals.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: ESPN’s score prediction for CFP meeting between Ducks and Red Raiders
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