Oregon's portal departures shine in Week 9 as Ducks head to Ohio State

Several players who left Oregon through the transfer portal had strong weekends in Week 9. Five of them put up numbers worth noting at their new schools, and for the Ducks it's another reminder of how much depth walked out the door last offseason. Ducks Wire singled out the group in its weekly look at former Ducks.

Two of them play for BYU. Wide receiver Kyler Kasper caught four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown in the Cougars' 27-20 win over Arizona State. That gives him 30 catches and 430 yards, both second on the team, and a team-high five touchdown receptions. Tight end Roger Saleapaga II had his busiest game of the season in the same win, with three catches for 26 yards. He nearly scored, but stepped out of bounds short of the goal line. He has 12 receptions for 146 yards this year.

The defensive transfers also produced. Linebacker Keith Brown led Washington State with 11 tackles and broke up a pass in a 26-20 loss to San Diego State, and he now has 71 tackles on the season. At California, linebacker Kamar Mothudi set a career high with eight tackles in a 31-10 loss to NC State. That puts him at 38 tackles in his first year with the Golden Bears, after he made four in his only season in Eugene. Defensive lineman Blake Purchase added three tackles as Ole Miss beat Auburn 45-15, which keeps the two-loss Rebels in the playoff race.

None of that changes Oregon's own position. The Ducks are 5-3, and the offense has been the problem. Oregon was held under 20 points three games in a row: a 17-15 loss to No. 21 UCLA, a 17-14 win over Nebraska and a 21-10 loss at Illinois. The Ducks broke out on Oct. 31 at Autzen Stadium, beating No. 20 Northwestern 34-26. Sports Illustrated reported that Oregon changed its offensive play-calling after the slump and threw for 336 yards against the Wildcats.

What it means for Ohio State

The win only helps if the offense keeps it up on the road. Oregon visits No. 11 Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 7, on CBS. The Ducks are 1-2 away from home this season. They won 41-27 at No. 12 USC and lost at Oklahoma State and Illinois. Two of their three losses came by a combined 10 points, so they have mostly stayed in games. Their trouble has been scoring enough in the second half of the schedule to finish them.

The board for the game has Ohio State favored, -251 on the moneyline at Novig. Oregon is +233 on Novig, and the best price on the Ducks among the 12 venues is +240 at Hard Rock Bet. The spread has the Buckeyes favored by 7.5. Novig prices Oregon +7.5 at -113, while theScore Bet has the same number at -110. Pinnacle has Ohio State at -7, priced at -113, half a point shorter than most of the market. Novig's total is 46.5, and BetRivers is a point higher at 47.5. The venues are close on this game. Sportsbook hold runs from about 4% to 7% depending on the market, and the main numbers differ by a half point here and a few cents there.

A touchdown-plus spread assumes Oregon's offense won't look the way it did against Northwestern. The Ducks have a week to show whether that game was the start of something or a one-off at home.