Though last year was Oregon’s first in the Big Ten, they had a history against every conference opponent on their schedule besides Maryland. This year presents a different slate and the Ducks will play Northwestern, Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa for the first time as conference opponents. Let’s take a look at the history with each of these schools.
Northwestern – For much of the 20th century these teams were bottom feeders in their own leagues. As such, they never scheduled each other as they sought
out shorter trips, easy wins, or pay-day games at bigger programs. The only ever meeting was a 14-10 Northwestern victory in Evanston in 1974. Oregon has to travel to the great lakes to face the Wildcats once again on September 13.
Indiana – Another middling midwestern program through much of their history, the Hoosiers dropped both games in a home-and-home with the Ducks in 1963-1964. The last meeting was over twenty years ago, but is still painfully vivid to long time Oregon fans. Indiana came into Autzen heavy underdogs for the 2004 season opener and stunned the Ducks 30-24. The game would herald Oregon’s first losing season in over ten years and prompt the switch to a spread offense the following year. The Hoosiers return to Eugene October 11, but they won’t be taken lightly this time.
Rutgers – The Scarlet Knights played Princeton in what is considered the first recognizable “football” game that has evolved into the sport we know today. The Ducks will face them for the first time this year in Piscataway, NJ on October 18.
Iowa – The Ducks travelled to Iowa City in 1949 and fell to the host Hawkeyes 34-31. The teams didn’t play again until 1989 when Oregon returned to Iowa and avenged their previous loss 44-6. The Hawkeyes made the return trip to Eugene in 1994 to face an Oregon team that had begun their season with a victory over then Division II (not I-AA) Portland State before falling to WAC opponents Hawai`i and Utah. Duck fans weren’t seeing much reason for optimism at the time, but a 40-18 win over the visiting Hawkeyes showed that Oregon wasn’t done yet. It was the first major victory in what would turn out to be a remarkable season that forever altered the trajectory of the program. Oregon will try to even the series at Iowa on November 8.
Minnesota – This November 14 will be the Golden Gophers first trip to Eugene for football. The Ducks went to Minneapolis in 1961 and 1975, losing by a single score each time. The teams didn’t meet again until the 1999 Sun Bowl when sophomore Joey Harrington led one of his signature 4th quarter comebacks to notch Oregon’s first win in the series, 24-20. The game also inspired a young Tristan to name his new pet bunny Reuben, after running back Reuben Droughns. Four years later in 2003 the Ducks and Golden Gophers met again in El Paso and Minnesota returned the favor 31-30.
