The Oregon Ducks are still reeling from one of their worst offensive performances in program history in a loss at home to UCLA, but the Ducks will have to turn the corner quickly before Nebraska comes to town this week for a second-straight home game.
However, the Ducks do need to look ahead to the upcoming road trip to Illinois, which has been a difficult place for Big Ten teams to win in the past. The Big Ten announced game times for some of the Week 8 slate in the conference, and Oregon's matchup against the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Illinois, has been placed on a six-day hold.
The game is tentatively set to kick off in the afternoon, either beginning at noon or at 12:30 p.m. PT. The network that will broadcast the game has not yet been
announced. Iowa's matchup at Minnesota and Michigan State's game at UCLA were also put on a six-day hold with the same time slots. The three games are likely to be split between Fox, CBS and Big Ten Network.
The Ducks hosted Illinois in 2024 and dominated as Dillon Gabriel tossed three touchdowns in a 38-9 win. However, the Week 8 tilt will be Oregon's third game ever in Champaign and the program's first since 1993. Oregon has struggled at times in both of its road games this season, so they will need to be on their A-game when they make the trip to the Midwest.
Here’s an early look at the Week 8 schedule 👀 pic.twitter.com/4La5C9OXPu
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 12, 2026
Illinois was expected to be a much better team this season, but the Illini are just 3-3 as they head into the bye week. With losses to Ohio State, Purdue and Duke, the Illini have already fired their defensive coordinator and haven't been able to stop any offense this season. To make matters worse, quarterback Katin Houser broke his hand last week against Michigan State and likely won't be available against the Ducks.
Oregon has its own quarterback issues, with uncertainty surrounding whether or not Dante Moore will return, and the lack of stability in the room with Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas.
The game time will be announced sometime after the Week 7 slate of games ends, so we will keep an eye out for when and what network the Ducks will be playing on when they head to Illinois next week.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon eyeing afternoon kickoff in Week 8 trip to Illinois
