Boise State Leads All-time Series Against Oregon 3-1

As August comes to a close, the long awaited college football season is finally upon us. Week 1 features many great matchups, including Boise State vs Oregon.

Under head coach Dan Lanning, Oregon has been a powerhouse. The Ducks have just eight losses in the last four years under his regime, making them the fourth-winningest team in the nation during that span.

With that said, Oregon hasn’t secured a meaningful postseason win since Lanning took the reins, unless you count the 2023 Fiesta Bowl where they beat up Liberty in a 45-6 bully-match.

So this begs the question: With all the might and money Dan Lanning has inherited at Oregon, why can’t the Ducks get it done when it matters most, and what could that mean for their season opener against Boise State?

Lanning left Georgia in 2022 for one of the nation's wealthiest college football programs. Oregon football is worth $1.13 billion, and isn’t afraid to spend money on infrastructure, coaches and especially players.

According to CBS Sports, the Ducks roster is estimated to be worth just north of $40 million, trailing only to Texas, LSU and Notre Dame.

On the flip side, Boise State’s budget is $10 million for revenue sharing, which is less than half of the NCAA’s cap. If you add NIL estimates, the team is sitting roughly in the $18-$20 million range, however official numbers have not been released.

“We don’t need what everyone else has. We just need more than we currently have,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said.

The more interesting comparison to Oregon is the team that blew them out in the 2025 College Football Playoff (CFP).

The Indiana Hoosiers spent about $21.1 million on their football roster in their 2025 campaign to a CFP championship, roughly half of what Oregon spent last season.

Head coach Curt Cignetti is entering his third season with Indiana and already has two CFP playoff appearances and a natty to go along with it. Indiana's football program is worth $386 million, less than half of Oregon’s.

So what do all these numbers mean? Oregon is rich, we all know that. Indiana had a Cinderella story in 2025 with a one in a million coach/quarterback combo and Boise State is still Boise State.

The truth is, there’s no excuse for Lanning to have this much talent and this many resources without a championship to show for it.

The national media has refused to place him on the hot seat, however, even with their experienced and high quality roster, they seem oddly vulnerable under a coach that nearly lost to both Boise State and the University of Idaho just two years ago.

Most preseason projections have Oregon at the top of the pack … No. 1 in the country, ‘this is their year.’ The thing is, Oregon was No. 1 last year. They had the first-round bye in the CFP. They had the $40 million roster. They had NFL talent all over the field.

Still, they lost to a historically average Indiana football team, 56-22, as they went on to win a national championship. Oregon was nothing but a bump in the road.

So what’s changed?

The Ducks bring back the second most starters in the nation (14), many of whom opted out of the NFL draft. Perhaps they’ve bought in to Lanning’s messaging, or perhaps a chunk of the $40 million sounds better than an NFL rookie deal, who knows.

Boise State is in a similar boat to Indiana less than a year ago. Under-funded, under appreciated and underdogs.

The Broncos have the element of surprise, facing the Ducks in week one, and they have the blueprint, courtesy of the Hoosiers, to beat an Oregon team that looks remarkably similar to last year’s disappointment.

Boise State leads the all-time series 3-1. The game kicks off Saturday, Sept. 5, at 1:30 p.m. MT..

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