Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock, you’ve probably noticed that the Big Ten is expanding this upcoming season. The additions of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon will drastically change the landscape of college football and continue to cement the Big Ten alongside the SEC as the nation’s premier conferences. While all four teams will pose unique challenges for their new conferences foes, they won’t join the Big Ten — officially official later this summer — without challenges of their own to overcome.
Today we’re tackling Oregon. You can also check out our introductions on USC, Washington and UCLA.
Last 10 Years: The last two seasons aside, Oregon hasn’t quite reached the levels it was at under Chip Kelly but it has won 10 or more games six times in the past 11 seasons. The Ducks are a power under head coach Dan Lanning, going 22-5 over the last two years, really only toppled in the pecking order by Washington’s own magical run. The return of Mario Cristobal prior to Lanning was a mixed bag and the brief Willie Taggart stint didn’t do much to pump things up after four up and down years under Mark Herfrich. Overall you can’t knock Oregon’s last decade, but the down has been really down.
Series History: Penn State owns a 3-1 series led against Oregon so far – although the Nittany Lions have yet to win in State College having won games in Philadelphia, Portland and Pasadena, the most recent meeting being Penn State’s Rose Bowl win over the Ducks in 1995. The only meeting so far in State College came in 1964 with Oregon winning 22-14. Three of the four games in this series so far were played in the 60s so plenty of room to build a new rivalry here.
Offseason Stories: Oregon will have to replace Bo Nix at quarterback but the biggest story of Oregon’s offseason is not having to replace Lanning. Of the four teams joining the Big Ten this year, Oregon has the fewest big picture problems to have to try and fix in the coming months. Every team has some degree of change each offseason, but Oregon will be happy to only have a few pieces to put together this year. Dillon Gabriel will likely take over the offense at quarterback.
This Year: Oregon will travel to Oregon State this year for an interesting out of conference clash but doesn’t have to deal with the worst road schedule against the new faces, hosting Michigan State and Ohio State while traveling on the road to Michigan and Wisconsin. A season ending clash against Washington should provide the Ducks with some normalcy to close out the year but all things considered, even with a new quarterback at the helm, Oregon should feel pretty good about its chances of picking up wins both run of the mill, and resume building.
Known Future Meetings: Penn State will host Oregon in 2025 but won’t make a trip on the road to face the Ducks until 2027. Oregon will travel back to State College in 2028 to give Penn State a small locational edge in the early stages of this renewed series. The 2025 game ought to be the highlight of Penn State’s home schedule, although Nebraska and the return of State College native Matt Rhule will be interesting too.
Overall: Of the four teams joining the Big Ten this offseason the Oregon Ducks pose the most likely candidate to make an immediate impact in the dynamics of both the Big Ten’s title race but the playoff picture as well. Oregon isn’t without its issues to iron out, but keeping a high end head coach on campus can go a long way towards sorting those things out. Penn State’s relationship with Oregon won’t start up this year, but it’s safe to assume the Ducks will still impact the Nittany Lions’ season in different ways.
