Should Oregon football be concerned after Fresno State’s blowout of UConn?

Two teams on Oregon football’s 2021 schedule happened to be in action during Week 0 and the Ducks got an early look at their Week 1 opponent, Fresno State.

The Bulldogs took the field against Connecticut which hadn’t played a single game since 2019 and that year they won just two games, going 2-10.

Fresno State dominated UConn 45-0 after leading 31-0 at halftime and it looked like the Bulldogs turned a corner from a 3-3 season in 2020 in which they finished the year with two straight losses. Kalen DeBoer had both sides of the ball looking great.

And this was especially interesting because the Bulldogs’ defense ranked 85th nationally last season in total yards allowed per game and 68th in points allowed and yet they surrendered just 107 yards and no points to UConn. It was total domination defensively.

The offense was ranked No. 17 in the country last season in total yards and 36th in scoring and it lived up to that, finishing with 538 total yards and 45 points.

So should Oregon be worried about this nearly flawless Week 0 performance by Fresno State heading into Week 1?

Cause for concern heading into Week 1?

Honestly, there shouldn’t be any reason to be more concerned about Fresno State after watching the UConn game than what we expected to see from the Bulldogs before the season.

You have to realize just how bad UConn truly is. The Huskies went 2-10 in their last action which was back in 2019 and taking an entire year off usually has a rough effect on a team. Rust will be there. UConn has also won just nine games since 2016. The Huskies aren’t exactly a football power. Actually, they barely have a pulse.

Jake Haener was impressive with 331 yards and three touchdowns but the run game averaged just 4.1 yards per carry. As long as the Ducks’ secondary lives up to the hype, Haener shouldn’t cause too many problems and the front is going to hold the Bulldogs’ running backs in check.

If they’re averaging just 4.1 yards per carry against arguably the worst defense they’ll see all year, imagine how Oregon is going to fare against the Fresno state run. That might make Fresno State’s offense completely one-dimensional.

Fresno State was never to be taken lightly, but a 45-0 win over UConn doesn’t exactly change things. Oregon should win big.