Oregon and James Madison will square off in the College Football Playoff on Saturday at Autzen Stadium. While both teams rightfully made it to the playoffs, they’re far from equal, and the betting line reflects that. Oregon’s lone loss came to No. 1 Indiana while James Madison’s loss was against unranked Louisville. The game against Louisville was the Dukes only game against a Power Four Conference team. James Madison’s head coach, Bob Chesney, has already signed on to take over the UCLA Bruins but will try to defeat a Big Ten rival before even joining the Bruins.
Results and context
The Dukes faced the Pac-12’s Washington State, whom they beat 24-20. Oregon has had only win come within four points, with that being a 18-16 win over No. 20 Iowa. James Madison’s first ranked opponent will be the Ducks on Saturday and it makes sense why they enter the game as 21.5 point underdogs.
Ducks Wire analysis
Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire did a breakdown of the talent on each roster to get a better grasp of the talent disparity ahead of Saturday’s game. Neel used the 247Sports Team Talent Composite to see just how loaded the Ducks are compared to the Dukes.
James Madison Dukes’ Talent Composition
5-Star Players: 0
4-Star Players: 3
3-Star Players: 35
2-Star Players or Lower: 75
Oregon Ducks’ Talent Composition
5-Star Players: 6
4-Star Players: 52
3-Star Players: 27
2-Star Players or Lower: 28
The numbers
“That paints a much clearer picture, and one that shows that Oregon, just as far as roster composition and talent go, is in a much different league than James Madison,” Neel said. “There’s a fine line between honesty and disrespect. Going into a College Football Playoff game against a respected team like the Dukes, my goal is not to discredit them or what they have accomplished this season. They have a great coach, a good team, and have found success in the Sun Belt. Nothing can take away from the special season that they’ve had, and they deserve endless credit for fighting their way into the CFP.”
Bob Chesney and the Dukes will try and shock the world this weekend.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Oregon and James Madison aren’t neck-and-neck in roster talent
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
