What a wild week it's been for the Oregon Ducks program. Not only was offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer let go, but it was announced that star quarterback Dante Moore would not return to the field in 2026 after sustaining a head injury on Sept. 27 against the USC Trojans. Having made program history as the preseason No. 2 team, it's been quite the fall for the Ducks.
Now sitting with a 4-3 record, Oregon faces a very real possibility of being .500 as the calendar flips to November — something that wouldn't have even been considered within the realm of possibilities in August. But it's certainly real, as the Ducks will host the 20th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats on Halloween.
A familiar face will be on the opposing sideline, as former Oregon
head coach Chip Kelly has revitalized his career as Northwestern's offensive coordinator, implementing creative game plans each week that have had a significant hand in their surprising 6-1 start to the year. The Wildcats are very, very far from being any sort of pushover.
Will the 2026 fall Saturday scaries continue for Oregon football on Halloween? We'll have to wait and see, with these five questions facing the Ducks as they head into a pivotal game against Northwestern.
Is this rock bottom, or is there another drop?
Making a significant change on the coaching staff is a sure-fire sign of hitting rock bottom, as things have gotten so bad that someone has to lose their job. That happened to Mehringer this week. But does that mean that it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows from here on out offensively?
Sorry, Ducks fans, but that's just not going to be the case. The moments that have transpired in the past week — the embarrassing loss to Illinois, Mehringer's firing and Moore's absence for the year (plus some off-the-field issues this month) — seem to be rock bottom. It's hard to get much lower, but you'd be surprised.
Losing in blowout fashion to Northwestern on national television would be just that. And there's a world where the Ducks come out flat and the Wildcats, like they have for much of the year, play inspired and run this Oregon team off of its own field.
The answer to this question will come with time, but we'll be a huge indicator come Saturday.
What will Jay Johnson's offense look like?
Jay Johnson brings something to the table that Mehringer simply didn't have: experience as an offensive coordinator and play-caller. Johnson has had seven different stops as an offensive coordinator, beginning at Southern Miss in 2005 and lastly with Wyoming in 2025. For reference, when Johnson started calling plays, Mehringer had yet to graduate high school.
What the offense looks like, exactly, remains to be seen. It's still the same bones that Mehringer was working with — it's not like Johnson can implement his very own offensive scheme midseason. The biggest difference will be the voice in Raiola's helmet and the feel for the game that Johnson brings. The playbook remains the same.
Over time, Mehringer showed that he didn't have a great feel for either creativity or stacking good play-calls on top of the other. We'll see if Johnson can work some magic with an offense that remains one of the most talented in the Big Ten.
How can the Ducks combat Chip Kelly's offensive tricks?
It's become known in football that Chip Kelly is an offensive mastermind, for better or worse. His tricks of the trade have worked wonders at Northwestern, as he's crafted different plays — and even a different scheme altogether with a Wing T against Indiana — in each game. He's incredibly hard to prepare for.
But once the teams take the field and Kelly is trying to fool the Ducks' defense, it's imperative that they play sound, fundamental football with disciplined eyes. What that last part means is not getting distraction by the window dressing or the eye candy in the backfield; if a linebackers' eyes are supposed to be on the guards, they must stay on the guards and not on the flashiness behind them.
It's almost certain that Kelly will pull out some tricky plays for his return to Autzen Stadium. Oregon's defense just needs to stay disciplined and do their individual jobs, and they should be alright.
Can the offense sustain drives?
One of, if not the biggest issue with Oregon's offense has been its inability to stay on the field. There's simply been too many three-and-outs, quickly giving the ball back to the opposition and tiring out the Ducks' defense.
Sustaining drives can look like a number of different things, but it starts on first down. If Oregon can get positive gains on the ground and create easy throws for Raiola, consistently getting themselves into manageable second and third down situations, they'll be in a good position to sustain drives. But if the first down play puts them behind the chains, the Ducks have proven to not be able to overcome it.
Can Gage Hurych get back on track?
Oregon certainly hopes that kicker Gage Hurych isn't as much of a factor as he's been in recent weeks, but we have no reason to believe that he won't. The West Linn native went 1-of-4 on field goals last week after coming into the game 9-of-9, and while it didn't lose them the game, it disallowed them a chance to tie or win it in the end.
If the Ducks offense is humming and sustaining drives into the red zone, Hurych won't need to be called upon. But based on what we've recently seen from the offensive group, Hurych will be called upon multiple times on Saturday. Whether he gets back on track or continues his downturn could be the difference between a win or loss against Northwestern.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Five questions for Oregon to answer against Northwestern in Week 9
