Dave Portnoy’s Hot Take on Oregon, Michigan Has One Major Problem

The first week of college football was a week of almosts.

Boise State almost pulled off what would have been the worst upset in the Dan Lanning era over the No. 2 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Across the country in Lansing, the No. 16 Michigan Wolverines almost lost to Western Michigan in a controversial ending where many think Western Michigan was robbed.

While Oregon came out and outscored Boise State 10-0 in the fourth quarter to secure the win, Michigan's win over Western Michigan was a lot less decisive.

Oregon Ducks Boise State Michigan Wolverines Dave Portnoy Week 1 college football Dan Lanning Western Michigan controversy — Michigan wide receiver JJ Buchanan (6) catches a 47-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary against Western Michigan to win, 13-12, as time expires in the fourth quarter at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Michigan came away with a 13–12 win when the refs put one more second back on the clock, giving them just enough time to throw a wild Hail Mary that was ultimately successful.

Social media erupted after the game, with many arguing that Western Michigan was robbed of a win and questioning whether the NCAA should investigate the controversial officiating decision.

The mind-blowing, controversial Western Michigan-Michigan finish.

Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and rules analyst Terry McAulay have the commentary on the stunning scene for NBC. 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/n9YE3OpXde
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026

Many people were upset by the loss and thought Western Michigan should have won. It's the kind of win that could define a season, let alone a program. But one person who was far from upset was Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy, who is a Michigan alumnus and has a reputation for stirring the pot on social media.

In light of the conversation surrounding the Wolverines following the controversial win, Portnoy took to social media to compare it with the Boise State win.

“You know what is amazing with all this misguided Michigan hate. Oregon who is a trendy national title pick struggled with arguably a worse team in Boise than WMU. But they don't have the Block M so nobody cares”
Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy

Portnoy's belief is that Oregon's close win over Boise State deserves the same, if not more, criticism than Michigan's win over Western Michigan. But that comparison leaves out a pretty important detail: Boise State and Western Michigan are not even close to being viewed as the same level of opponent.

Boise State and Western Michigan aren't even close

Boise State is in a totally different tier than Western Michigan. Calling Boise State "arguably a worse team than WMU" is fundamentally disconnected from reality.

The Broncos have been one of the best Group of Five programs in the country for years, are regularly ranked in the Top 25 and have consistently been in the conversation for conference titles and College Football Playoff spots.

Western Michigan is a MAC team that came into Ann Arbor as a 28-point underdog. There is a huge difference between struggling with a Boise State team and needing a last-second Hail Mary to beat a four-touchdown underdog like Western Michigan.

That does not mean Oregon should get a pass for struggling with Boise State. It was still a terrible look for the No. 2 team in the country to struggle that much against a team it opened as a 24.5-point favorite against, according to DraftKings.

But pretending the two opponents were comparable does not make Michigan's performance look any better.

Oregon caught plenty of heat for its Week 1 performance

Contrary to Portnoy's implication, Oregon did catch plenty of heat for its win over Boise State, and rightfully so. The Ducks entered the season with legitimate national championship expectations, so barely escaping Boise State was always going to draw criticism. The idea that "nobody cares" when Oregon struggles is not true.

National analysts immediately questioned Oregon's performance, with several prominent voices expressing serious concerns about whether the Ducks are ready to live up to the expectations placed on them.

FOX Sports lead analyst Joel Klatt sounded alarms across his national platforms, directly questioning Oregon's toughness and readiness to contend for championships after its sluggish non-conference outing:

"Alarm bells should be going off heavily around Oregon... This has got to get better. And it's got to get better in a big way, and fast... Oregon is concerning. There’s no other way to put it other than that."
Joel Klatt

Josh Pate of CBS Sports' Late Kick with Josh Pate went even further, bluntly stating that Oregon looked completely detached from the standard of a national championship contender:

"Oregon looked terrible... That one was jarring, it was glaring. I think Oregon is S.O.L. if they don't get a lot corrected. If those problems persist, this is a multi-loss team this year. If those problems persist, they're not beating Ohio State."
Josh Pate

Those comments are pretty difficult to reconcile with the idea that Oregon struggled and "nobody cares."

Oregon absolutely deserved criticism for its performance against Boise State. The Ducks did not look like the No. 2 team in the country for large portions of the game, and there are plenty of things Dan Lanning's team needs to clean up before conference play.

Oregon's win was never in doubt because of the officials

At the end of the day, that might be the biggest difference between these two games.

Nobody is arguing that Oregon did not beat Boise State.

The Ducks were tested throughout the game, struggled to put the Broncos away and had plenty of issues that need to be fixed. But Oregon ultimately made the plays it needed to make and won the game on the field.

Michigan's win over Western Michigan is different because there is still a legitimate debate surrounding whether the Wolverines should have even had that final opportunity.

The officials put one second back on the clock, Michigan threw a Hail Mary and the Wolverines walked away with a 13–12 victory. For many watching, it looked like the officials handed Michigan the opportunity to win a game it had already lost.

That is why comparing the two games simply because both No. 2 Oregon and No. 16 Michigan struggled against underdogs misses the bigger picture.

Oregon may have played poorly against Boise State, but the Ducks still won a football game on the field without needing a controversial officiating decision to give them another chance.

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