No. 4 Oregon couldn't really ask for two more lopsided wins to start the season. Now, it's time for the Big Ten championship defense to kick into gear.
The Ducks (2-0) will try to build on a dominant start when they visit Northwestern (1-1) in a nationally televised conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
“We expect everyone's best, and that's really what we want because that's how we'll get our best,” coach Dan Lanning said. “Part of being the best version of you is it takes a challenge, right?
And you want a challenge from the teams that you get to play.”
Oregon went 9-0 in Big Ten play in its first year in the conference and beat Penn State in the league championship game. The Ducks finished 13-1 overall, losing to league rival Ohio State in the Rose Bowl after beating the Buckeyes by a point earlier in the season.
Oregon routed Montana State and Oklahoma State by a combined 128-16 to open the season. The Ducks have scored 50 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2018. They racked up 631 yards in total offense last week in a 69-3 romp and handed Oklahoma State its most lopsided beating since 1907.
Northwestern bounced back from a season-opening loss at Tulane by shredding FCS member Western Illinois 42-7. The Wildcats had 526 yards yards in their biggest margin of victory since a 43-3 win against Maryland in 2020.
New quarterback Preston Stone threw for 245 yards and his first three touchdowns this season after struggling in the opener. But the competition is obviously making a massive jump.
“This is exciting,” coach David Braun said. “This is why you play in the Big Ten. ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ coming to campus, the students are back. ... The lakefront needs to be packed with purple. We need to create a homefield advantage. It may be a smaller venue, but it still can be an incredible advantage for the 'Cats.”
Dante Moore is off to a good start in his first season as Oregon's No. 1 quarterback after transferring from UCLA and backing up Dillon Gabriel last year. He is tied for the league lead with six TD throws and has completed 77.3% of his passes for 479 yards without an interception.
Northwestern will have to get by without leading rusher Cam Porter for the remainder of the season after he suffered a lower-body injury last week. The sixth-year senior ran for 91 yards and a touchdown before limping to the sideline in the third quarter. Porter led Northwestern in rushing in 2020, 2023 and 2024.
Despite the lopsided scores the first two weeks, Lanning sees room to improve.
“We grade ourselves a little bit different," he said. "You know, so in the first game I think we graded out 73% of guys doing their job, executing at a high rate. We expect that to be higher than that. This past game, we were at 72%, so we actually went the wrong direction there.”
Stone, a graduate transfer from SMU, had a bounce-back game against Western Illinois. He went from throwing a career-high four interceptions in the opener to completing 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards without getting picked off, but he faces a different kind of challenge against Oregon. The Ducks are tied for 10th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 8 points per game.
Stone helped SMU win the AAC championship two years ago when he threw for 3,197 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions before breaking his leg in the regular-season finale. Last season, he started the first three games before Kevin Jennings took over.
This will be just the second meeting between Oregon and Northwestern. The Wildcats won the only matchup to date, beating the Ducks 14-10 on Oct. 5, 1974, in Evanston.
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