No. 23 Oregon women’s basketball’s (5-0) 70-54 rout over the Grand Canyon University Antelopes (2-2) was about as dominant of a win as the Ducks have had or will have this season. Oregon held the lead in this contest for 37:21 of the 40 minutes, while the Lopes only led for 88 seconds. 

Oregon didn’t perform exceptionally well on the offensive end, as it shot 37.7% for the game. The team’s defensive and rebounding effort, however, fueled the win on Monday night. 

“I don’t think we were great tonight, we certainly didn’t shoot the ball well,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball, we didn’t finish that well, we didn’t shoot it great, some turnovers in those first couple minutes.”

The Ducks moved up to No. 23 in the AP Poll before their Monday evening contest against Grand Canyon. Oregon sat undefeated, while Grand Canyon started 2-1, with a double-digit win over Power 4 Arizona State on Thursday. 

The suffocating defense from both Amina Muhammad and Sofia Bell got the Ducks started, as they forced three turnovers in the first five minutes. During that same stretch, Peyton Scott revved up the offense by hitting her first two tries from deep, burying one from each corner.

Scott finished with a team-leading 17 points, four rebounds and two assists.  

“That felt really good, just to get some in-rhythm shots to start the game always feels good, and then I feel like it jumpstarted other people to get hot and get some shots down,” Scott said.

Oregon’s offense ballooned its early lead to a five minute, 20-0 run, which almost kept the Lopes in single-digits to open the game. The first quarter ended 22-10 in favor of the home team, which was a lead the Ducks wouldn’t give up. 

“We executed and made a couple of shots. When we get rolling, we’re pretty good, we got a lot of different weapons and we had a nice run there,” Graves said. 

The Ducks actually doubled the amount of points the Lopes had at one point, and the first half ended 36-18 without much resistance from the visitors. 

The Lopes opened up the third quarter on a 8-0 run fueled by the switch from a zone to man-to-man defense and cut the lead to 10 before Scott drilled another triple to silence Grand Canyon. 

GCU chipped into the lead at times, but a scoring drought that lasted over three minutes practically crushed all hopes that it had at reentering this game. 

Oregon outrebounded GCU 47-32, while the Ducks’ defense forced 12 turnovers, 35% from the field and 25% from deep. A lot of that was due to the omnipresent Amina Muhammad, who finished with 11 points, 10 boards and four fouls drawn. 

“Great board work, I thought Amina played really well, she made her free throws which was awesome. I’m really proud of her, she looked like she wanted the ball inside,” Graves said. 

Muhammad made three trips to the line on Monday night, and she shot 5-6 in those trips. Her ability to be a presence inside at her size has become invaluable to the Ducks on both sides of the floor. 

The Ducks will need to improve their offense if they want to compete with Auburn on Wednesday night, which will be Oregon’s second power four matchup of the season — the first one was an upset victory over the then No. 12 Baylor Bears  

“We gotta do things a little bit tighter, a little better,” Graves said.

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Oregon’s inability to stretch its scoring into runs almost cost it what should have been an easier win (25-15, 22-25, 27-25, 25-20) over the Northwestern Wildcats. The Ducks tallied more service errors and attacking errors than the Wildcats, but Northwestern just couldn’t match the talent at Oregon’s disposal. 

“I thought we were very generous, we gave a lot of points away…I thought we tried to force things we knew they would take away, just weren’t very disciplined,” Head Coach Matt Ulmer said. “Probably one of our worst serving matches in a long time.”

The No. 11 Oregon Ducks (19-5, 11-4 Big Ten) entered Friday evening’s contest off the back of a 2-2 stretch in its last four matches, while Northwestern (5-18, 3-12 Big Ten) stumbled into Eugene winning just one of its last seven matches. 

Mimi Colyer got out to the fast start the Ducks needed from her, scoring three of Oregon’s first eight points, which were the first three of her 15 kills on the night. Michelle Ohwobete joined in later in the set, as she picked up five of her 20 kills on the night in the opening frame. 

“Michelle, I thought, was fantastic. 20 kills, definitely a season-high for her,” Ulmer said. 

Northwestern stayed in the set, however, as the Wildcats even brought it as close as 11-8 toward the midpoint of the opening frame. That didn’t last, as an emphatic Noemie Glover kill extended an Oregon run to 4-0. 

Onye Ofoegbu recorded her first of seven total blocks for the match after a Northwestern hit sailed behind the entire team due to the strength of Oregon’s ever-trusty middle blocker. 

“I think it was all about discipline, even defensively…even though I felt like [her performance] wasn’t that good, the discipline helps,” Ofoegbu said. 

The Wildcats found no success trying to defend the fast-paced Oregon offense, especially when the Ducks were able to find Cristin Cline for an easy set up to the various weapons up front — Cline finished with 51 assists. 

A 7-2 stretch from the Ducks ensured a win in the opening set, as it put the home team up 18-10. Northwestern mustered a few solid offensive plays, but nothing to aid it in a 25-15 defeat to begin Friday’s match. 

Northwestern jumped out to an impressive start to the second set, even taking a 5-3 lead, but the Wildcats failed to sustain that run of play. 

Then, the second set became a battle. Each team carried runs at times, but the foothold on the match could not be maintained by either side. It was clear that the Wildcats wanted nothing more than to avoid the mountain of being down 2-0 on sets. 

The strong Oregon block from the first set disappeared as the following frame droned on. Oregon found itself facing a Northwestern match point at 24-22 after the defense caved on two straight points where the Wildcats found a wide open outside hitter to smoke one into the Ducks’ back line. 

“The third set was still not great, it was just like one long mess for us in sets two and three…we got really undisciplined, they stepped up the service pressure, they made some nice plays and made some better swings,” Ulmer said. 

Northwestern’s improved defensive effort after the first set made this match competitive and forced the Ducks to get creative in order to avoid a resounding upset. Oregon just couldn’t string together any runs throughout the entirety of the third frame, which made it much harder to win the set. 

Every single time the Ducks went up by three or four points, Northwestern came right back and forced Oregon on its heels. 

Oregon finally hunkered down on defense and converted two attacks in a row to finish the third set 27-25 for a 2-1 lead — crucial in a game decided by such close margins. 

In the fourth set, the Ducks started efficiently with a 4-0 start due to Ohwobete’s excellent serving and play from the back. That run quickly ballooned to 9-2, and the Ducks controlled the flow of the match in an attempt to end it. 

The Ducks took a resounding 19-13 lead, but given the character of this match, the Wildcats could not be counted out. Northwestern nearly came back, and got the score as close as 20-17, but Oregon’s calculated attack proved too much. 

The Ducks took the fourth set 25-20 and closed out the match 3-1, initiating the start of senior night ceremonies. 

Oregon returns to action Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles when it takes on the USC Trojans.

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With No. 1 Oregon’s off-season shift to the Big Ten, it meant that the Ducks would start taking road trips to some of the most historic playing fields in the sport. 

Two weeks ago, Oregon traveled east to arguably the most historic of the conference’s various cathedrals of college football — Michigan Stadium, better known as “The Big House.” 

The Ducks handily  took care of business in the Wolverine State in a dominating 38-17 rout of the home team. That performance kept Oregon’s perfect record on the season, furthered its record on the road to 4-0 and increased its away point differential to 156-44 so far this season. 

Oregon’s upcoming matchup, one in Wisconsin against the Badgers, carries a lot of the same mystique. 

Wisconsin’s home, Camp Randall Stadium, holds the title as the oldest stadium in the Big Ten, which is the original college football conference. Camp Randall gets its namesake from the site’s use as a base during the American Civil War, and the stadium was built on its site in 1917. 

There’s one part of the original camp still intact, the arch, which stadium goers walk through upon entering Camp Randall Memorial Park just outside the stadium. In its time playing its games at the camp, Wisconsin has dominated. 

That domination over the years has resulted in one (unclaimed) national championship and 14 Big Ten titles — fifth-most all time. The Badgers also maintain a home record of 483-221-30 throughout their history, which is a winning percentage of .658. Even though the Badgers sit at 3-2 while playing in Madison this season, Camp Randall’s crowd of 80,321 will be riled up trying to play spoiler to the surging Ducks. 

But, that’s simply not important to the 2024 Oregon Ducks. 

“No matter what happens, we stick to the plan, we don’t get rattled. We’re an older team and there’s really good leadership on this team and things like that. We just don’t get rattled, no matter what the arena is, what the stadium is, we know we’re coming there to win ball games,” senior Ducks cornerback Jabbar Muhammad said. 

This team fields 21 seniors or redshirt-seniors regularly, which speaks to this team’s ability to fight off hostile crowds and the negative effects of blaring noise. The Ducks also boast a plethora of players who transferred in, so the team’s experience isn’t limited to the West Coast. 

Oregon’s composure also speaks to the preparation it takes each week for the nation’s most earth-shaking environments, as each practice the staff blasts crowd noise to mimic the sensation of playing on a Camp Randall-esque stage. 

Not even that makes the Ducks feel anything special heading into the oldest stadium in the conference — it’s all just another game, another week for them. 

“Any of these games are the same, we try to go into each game and prepare to the best of our ability, and just win that game, one week at a time,” senior defensive tackle Derrick Harmon said last Tuesday before the Michigan game.

Much has been made about Oregon, a more recent program in the annals of college football, walking into some of the most historic and daunting atmospheres in the sport and dominating teams with incredibly rich history relative to that of the Ducks. What has remained consistent is the team’s commitment to drowning all that noise out with its presence on the field.

No one has been able to hang with Oregon this season, and even the oldest atmosphere in the conference could fail to stop it.

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The new-look No. 25 Oregon Women’s Basketball (4-0) squad proved a lot through its first four games. 

A new-and-improved offense and increased depth heightened this team’s ceiling, but it’s what shined in the Ducks’ 66-35 win over the University of North Texas Mean Green (2-1) that could drive this team far this season. 

A concerted effort on defense allowed Oregon to hold the Mean Green to just nine points in the first half, but the Ducks totaled just 27, their lowest in a first half in this young season. Those nine points included just two field goals, which inevitably resulted in a horrid 24.5% from the field by the time the game ended. 

“They scored a field goal on their first possession and they got just one more the rest of the half. When you’re only allowing two field goals in a half, that’s getting it done,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We defended really well in that first half, so to me that means that our experience won out, they were ready. We just didn’t execute it the way we wanted to.”

It’s worth noting that Oregon shot just 45% from the field on Tuesday, which did not help matters especially considering what the scoreline could have been if the Ducks got their shots falling in the opening frame. 

This was very specifically a first quarter issue, as Oregon shot 35.7% to begin the contest, but the team’s ability to blank the Mean Green from the field in the second quarter allowed for a lot more experimentation and shuffling of the offense. 

“Defense is always a huge thing when the shots aren’t always gonna fall, like in the first half we couldn’t get anything going, and the only thing that matters at that point is to keep locking down on defense and do what you’re supposed to do,” Nani Falatea said. 

Falatea co-led the game in scoring with Elisa Mevius — each adding 11 in a subpar Oregon offensive effort. The defense supplied enough energy to account for the rest of the blunders, especially from Falatea and Mevius. 

Falatea tallied a block, while Mevius collected two steals, which represents the team effort behind the Ducks’ doubling of North Texas’ STOCKs (Steals and blocks combined). 

“I think it’s easier to be in the gap and get steals if there’s pressure on the ball. So, I think I take a lot of pride in defending, but also the team backs me up. Sometimes when I get beat, they have to help and step in,” Mevius said.

The offensive woes disappeared at the onset of the second half, as the Ducks went on to shoot 47.1% in the latter 20 minutes of the contest. 

“Second half we let up a little bit, but at least offensively, we got our pace going, so the game itself was a little faster paced. We just got to put our second half offense into the first half and the first half defense in the second half,” Graves said. 

Combining the two phases of the game will be crucial going forward the rest of the season, as the Ducks move into a gauntlet during the rest of their out-of-conference schedule.

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“They out-coached us, they out-worked us, they out-played us. [Tracey] and [Barthelemy] gave us a few plays to give us a chance,” head coach Dana Altman said postgame. 

Oregon found itself down four, staring down the barrel of what would have been among the worst losses in the Altman-era awaiting two TJ Bamba free throws with just 46 seconds remaining. 

Bamba hit just one of those, and Portland broke Oregon’s press — a common theme throughout Tuesday’s matchup. This forced a foul and two made free throws from the Pilots’ Chris Austin to seemingly ice Tuesday night’s nail-biter.  

That’s when Keeshawn Barthelemy stepped up to hit a quick three on the move and force this game to two points with 29 seconds left. Portland finally went 0/2 from the line, and Oregon had its chance. 

Jackson Shelstad missed a jumper, resulting in a scramble for the ball and a wide open lane for Jadrian Tracey to tie it up and send it to overtime with two of his game-leading 19 points. Tracey scored five of those in overtime and led the team to a miraculous 80-70 comeback win. 

“[Tracey] was phenomenal tonight. He played his butt off, and there was nobody more deserving of that bucket than him,” Barthelemy said. 

The Ducks (3-0) rolled into Tuesday night after two resounding wins to begin the season. Their adversary, the Portland Pilots (1-2), limped into Eugene after losing by 41 at home on Saturday night. 

The Pilots opened up the contest with a quick shot clock violation, which was the first of 16 turnovers for the visitors. Portland ran a 2-3 to begin the game, which Oregon took advantage of quickly, as the Ducks hit two of their first three attempts from deep. 

But it was Oregon who shot itself in the foot first. A three minute stretch of no scoring mixed with several turnovers and lackadaisical defense gave Portland its first lead of the night at 9-8. 

The Ducks shot just 27% in the first half, and after the first 15 minutes, they couldn’t hold up their strong defensive effort. Once Portland started hitting shots, it became incredibly difficult to bring the score back even. 

“We came out lethargic and gave them a lot of confidence and easy baskets. I don’t know how many defensive assignments we messed up…we weren’t anywhere near locked in,” Altman said about the first half. 

Oregon finished the half missing all of its last eight shots, but the Pilots did one better by going scoreless in the last three minutes of the opening frame. Nonetheless, Portland took an emphatic 31-23 lead at the half and crafted a mountain for Oregon to overcome in the second. 

In the second, Portland went two minutes where it hit three straight threes, and in that same period, Oregon could only muster four points. All the Pilots needed to do was match the inefficient production of the Ducks to keep them at arm’s length. 

At one point, Shelstad swooped into the backcourt for an electric steal, missed a layup, got the board, missed the layup, got the board, missed the layup and then Portland finally grabbed it. That stretch was made worse by the ensuing offensive possession leading to an easy post up on Shelstad in the low block for an open Portland layup. 

“In the second half, they hit a couple threes, and we came down and tried to get it back with one pass and a three, no rebounders. Bad coached team. I’m watching that game and saying ‘who coaches that team?’” Altman said. 

That almost defined the game for Oregon, but Oregon had attempts to get back into it throughout the latter half. 

Those were short-lived, however, as the Pilots stole back all the momentum after a Vukasin Masic banked-in three from the logo as the shot clock expired with five-and-a-half to play.

It was all but lost when Barthelemy decided to step up. Barthelemy walked down the court and hit two spot up threes and a deep two to cut the lead to 63-59 with just over two minutes to play. 

Oregon continued to try and press the Pilots and force bad decisions, but those never came. Portland’s intricately crafted press-break made Oregon’s attempts to come back futile. 

“We started pressing and we started making them a little uncomfortable. They weren’t turning the ball over, but once you press people, they may not crack in the first ten minutes of the half, they may crack in the last four or five minutes,” Barthelemy said. 

Futile until Oregon started surging yet again. In the last two minutes of regulation and the entirety of overtime, the Ducks played to their standard and didn’t let up. Oregon finally looked like the 25-point favorite the country thought it was. 

The Ducks started the extra period on an electric 9-0 run, and they never came close to giving up that lead, taking what could have been a disaster and turning it into a 80-70 win.  

With the help of leaders such as Barthelemy and Tracey, Oregon avoided what would have been one of the worst losses in recent memory. 

“We gotta change some things,” Altman said. 

The Ducks return to action Sunday afternoon and welcome the Troy University Trojans to Matthew Knight Arena.

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The fall landscape in East Michigan was about as picturesque as it is in Eugene, but not in a mountain valley kind of way like in Western Oregon. It was completely flat almost everywhere I looked and every single tree I noticed carried the classic fall hues. 

Ann Arbor proved the perfect example of this. 

While I traveled East to cover the No. 1 Ducks, this past weekend became much more than the eight hours I spent in Michigan Stadium — better known as the Big House — on Saturday. 

As I walked around the incredible college town that Ann Arbor is, the prevailing feeling of the Michigan fan base was defeat. 

“I sold my ticket” became the motto of those I spoke to on Friday night, as the best team in the nation came to town, but that dampened nobody’s spirits. Everywhere I went, there was music bumping and people enjoying the weekend. When I say everywhere, I mean it — I walked for about three miles or so that night, for reference. 

The “college” portion of AA stretched on and on for miles with each house bearing its own character and some sort of Halloween decoration. I passed by multiple large, white tents packed to the brim with people and shaking from the massive speakers blaring fraternity classics within. 

Festivities didn’t end that night, apparently. When I woke up Saturday morning, the whole town was awake with me and ready for the game. I walked along the outskirts of campus and everywhere I looked, tents and flags passionately demonstrated the historic maize and blue colors every football fan knows all too well. The tailgate scene appeared as if it had been there for years. 

It may as well have been, as Michigan’s football team formed just a decade after the first college football game was played and the Wolverines became founding members of what became the Big Ten conference. Michigan self-proclaims itself as the “Champions of the West”, as for many of the program’s 19 national titles (fifth-most in history), it was one of the westernmost points that the sport stretched. 

Michigan has been named the Big Ten champion a record 45 times in its history, so this game carried a little more importance for the newcomers in Oregon. That’s also because the most recent — both the 45th conference and 19th national — championships came just last season. 

As I cowered below the monstrous M behind the scoreboard, I noticed it carried a new, smaller banner just below, one which reminded everyone that, no matter the Wolverine’s current standing, they will still continue to try and defend their national title. 

The Big House itself, up there for the most famous college football stadiums, lives up to its name. It’s truly of the pantheons of college football lore, and the massive brick bowl took me by surprise, as its architecture makes for that. 

Michigan’s 107,000 seat behemoth sits dug into the ground, so the highest points of the stadium sit right at eye level upon walking up towards it. The cavernous grounds sat empty upon my arrival, and as I walked down the 72 rows in the middle sections, I could feel the history within those walls. 

The chipped and faded blue paint on each bleacher reminded me of a dugout bench at an old park and the ghosts of what once happened on that field spoke to me — this was a special place to be. 

Watching over 100 thousand people stream into their seats overwhelmed me slightly, but before I knew it, the game was rolling and the Big House quaked with noise. Those same feelings of defeat I encountered just the night before left as soon as kickoff happened, especially in the few moments the Wolverines drew their fans in. 

Oregon waddled into Ann Arbor and took care of business, with what I assume was less appreciation for the city that I had. 38-17 was the final, and it never appeared that Michigan had it in them to compete with the buzzsaw Oregon has been this season. 

But the game itself was never what was going to make this trip special. It’s a moment like I had just after finishing postgame media with the Ducks. 

As we exited the press room attached to the team’s locker room, me and all the other journalists seemed to conjure the same thought — “We’re in the tunnel.” 

I’m not talking about just any tunnel in the stadium, I’m talking about the one everyone’s seen. The one right in the middle of the field, where, for countless years, the Wolverines have come streaming out of their locker room to famously jump up and touch the M-Club’s banner. 

In unison, we all slowly made our way down the cavernous, echoing tunnel and onto the field, which was something we hadn’t done yet. 

Only then did I realize what I was looking at. 

The Big House is incredibly tall — something which the architecture doesn’t do adequate justice to. So tall that all of the bleachers, enough for 107,000 people, blended into one mass that makes up the blue magic that lines the interior of this brick palace. 

One important thing I’ve realized during my time covering sports in Oregon is that the Ducks are a recent phenomenon — at least relative to a school like Michigan. That feeling provides a sense of innovation and freshness to the school’s sports programs. 

However, traveling to one of college football’s various Mecca-like sites proved just as amazing, just in different ways. 

This weekend, I made sure I took everything I could in, especially the thoughtful comments that any generous Michigan would provide to help with my understanding of everything Wolverines. Ann Arbor remains a paradise for any college football fan, even if the team may not always play up to its usual standard. 

I will be back.  

“I think everybody in the nation needs to recognize what kind of quarterback we got. He’s a really really special player,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said after his squad’s 38-17 victory at defending national champions Michigan.

He’s referring to the 294 yard, two total touchdown day from his star quarterback, Dillon Gabriel. 

The visiting Ducks elected to play defense first, forcing the ball into the hands of the lackluster Michigan offense. A 3-and-out lasting just under two minutes ensued, giving Oregon the opportunity to give the ball to its playmakers early on. 

Oregon started its offensive attack with three straight screen passes which totaled 26 yards and set up two 1st downs. The Ducks did not slow down there. 

After a methodical march downfield, including 7/7 passing from Dillon Gabriel, the Ducks punched it in. Gabriel found Evan Stewart on a fade route to the back left corner of the endzone, and Stewart fought  off contact to make the catch and break the ice. 

Another Michigan 3-and-out followed, capped off by a Davis Warren fumble caused by his own lineman. The stop was one of seven of Oregon’s tackles for losses on the day. However, disaster struck on the ensuing punt. 

Due to a shoulder injury sustained by receiver and primary returner Tez Johnson, Ryan Pellum dropped back to return the kick. Pellum caught it and made a move, but in the process he lost the ball. The Wolverines pounced on it and gifted themselves an opportunity to start fresh in Oregon territory. 

“I don’t really have any details on that right now. He wasn’t able to come back in the game,” Lanning said about Johnson’s injury.

Michigan took that opportunity in stride and tied the game up with a seven-yard strike to Tyler Morris. 

The Ducks responded quickly with a two-minute, 75 yard touchdown drive that ended in a Noah Whittington punch-in from the 1-yard line. The one-yarder was set up by the 20-yard dump off to Terrance Ferguson, on which he was mere inches away from scoring. 

The Wolverines’ failure to get the offense moving gave Oregon the ball back right away. The Ducks’ steady offense dominated its way to another touchdown and the first multi-score lead of the game. 

It happened on another long throw, short punch into the endzone combination. 

Gabriel unloaded a missile down the right sideline to Traeshon Holden for 38-yards and set the Ducks up at the six. Just 19 seconds later, Whittington strutted in for his second score of the day and a 21-7 lead for Oregon. 

Holden, who has seen limited action recently, continued making plays. Gabriel found Holden over the middle for a 44-yard catch over the middle, which included him making a Michigan defensive back fall down after a nifty juke move. He finished with 149 receiving yards on just six receptions.

“I’m not surprised, this is how [Holden’s] been practicing,” Gabriel said. “You see three weeks ago and you see now, just growth and a guy who’s wanting to be better. I’m extremely proud of him, and I have a bunch of belief in him as a player and a person.”

The next play would have easily been the most exceptional of the game if not for an illegal man downfield penalty. Gabriel, with all the time in the world, threw one to the back of the endzone, supposedly out of play, but Stewart jumped up, grabbed it with one hand and got two feet down for an unreal catch. Alas, that 34-yard wonder-touchdown was taken off the board. 

Gabriel was still able to tack onto the Ducks’ lead before the end of the half. Iapani Laloulu cleared a huge gap for Gabriel, leading to an incredibly smart scramble through the middle for a 23-yard score on the ground.

The first half ended 28-10. 

The second half started as badly as it could have for Oregon. Michigan’s defense forced a 3-and-out, which led to a 75-yard Wolverine drive that ended in a Warren dart to Peyton O’Leary to move the Ducks’ lead to two scores. 

Michigan’s offense consistently stemmed from its ability to get the ball into the hands of tight end Colston Loveland, who recorded seven catches for 112 yards on Saturday.

As soon as the Wolverines scored, the home fans returned. 

With the crowd behind it, Michigan looked as if it had a route back into the contest and had escaped the routing at hand. The Wolverines thought they forced a punt on 4th down, but they had a man lined up over the long snapper, which resulted in a five-yard penalty and a 1st down for Oregon.

The Ducks couldn’t convert on the mistakes, as they settled for an Atticus Sappington 26-yard field goal to extend the lead to 31-17. 

Following the field goal, each team could only generate small pockets of offense until Michigan strung together a few 1st downs and had the Ducks on their heels. 

The character of that drive became a physical 26-yard run by Alex Orji, who broke multiple tackles to get into the redzone halfway through the 4th quarter. 

The Wolverines could only gain five more yards that possession and turned it over on downs, which effectively ended the game. 

“In the first half we did a really good job of establishing our run defense. We gave up a couple explosives in past games, just bad eyes…but overall I feel like we’re growing each week as a defense,” safety Kobe Savage said. 

The effort from Oregon stayed relentless and didn’t end until the final whistle, which is incredibly important in matchups such as this one. The Ducks waddled into the Big House, did their job and now they move on as one of the nation’s only undefeated teams. 

Oregon returns home to Eugene next Saturday against the struggling Maryland Terrapins (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten) at 4:00 p.m. 

There’s not much these days that unites politicians. Even bipartisan bills, meant to appease each side, have been shot down in Congress recently. 

At the same time, issues surrounding sports don’t tend to make their way to the political scene, aside from Title IX as it pertains to college sports. Even then, the issue never really separates the two major political parties in this country. 

That’s why, as the college sports atmosphere shifted to incorporate the Name, Image and Likeness contracts we see today, the politics surrounding it were clear-cut. 

Simply put, everyone makes money under NIL. For the schools, it creates a drive to donate and boost the sports programs. For external companies, they get the added benefit of having a notable athlete, and often a national star, to promote their product or service. 

And for the athletes, they have the opportunity to make money through promotions and brand deals.That’s the main driver of NIL becoming a unifying topic in Washington D.C. — it just works for everyone. 

The feeling has caused even Republican Senators such as Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to team up with the Independent Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Democratic Senators such as Cory Booker (D-NJ) in order to draw up ways to make the fairly new concept of NIL run smoother. 

For example, Booker, along with Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), announced a bipartisan draft in July 2023 that created mediating organizations that monitored contract situations, promoted athletes’ health and wellness and brought more transparency on how deals are made and their details, among many other topics. 

In July 2023, Manchin and Tuberville announced a draft bill of their own that took a more hands-on approach to managing the NIL landscape. This bill, for the most part, wanted to give schools more power to control NIL internally, as it discussed limiting boosters and NIL-centric donations that come from outside the university. 

Can we discuss here the difference between the two and what their implications are? Its ok if we’re a bit over in word count

All in all, the sports world, other than the opinions of high-profile athletes, has little to say on this election. However, it’s important to consider the ramifications of each candidate’s ability to help get the previously discussed bills passed, so this NIL landscape can receive needed guidance through law. 

Oregon kept its two-loss record in its new conference Sunday afternoon and secured a 2-0 record on the week after a sweep of the bottom-of-the-conference Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 

The No. 11 Ducks (16-3, 8-2 Big Ten) rolled into Sunday’s contest off the back of a gritty, but impressive sweep of Maryland. Rutgers (5-16, 0-10 Big Ten) stumbled into Sunday losing all of its previous nine matchups. The Knights showed fight in the first set, but Oregon’s offense could not be stopped today, as the Ducks powered themselves to a resounding sweep (26-24, 25-18, 25-14). 

“It’s always different. Look at those three sets, those are three completely different sets. Same people, same teams, but you never know how it’s gonna go, so for us it’s about consistency,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. 

Oregon opened the match with a clear gameplan in mind — defense. The Ducks sat back for the first set and allowed Rutgers to desperately try to open up the block, which forced the Knights onto their back foot.

The Ducks started with a 6-1 run, which included two kills each from Mimi Colyer and Noemie Glover — they finished with 12 and 8 kills, respectively. Rutgers started catching the Ducks sleeping, which translated into a small Scarlet Knights run that made the opening set competitive. 

Onye Ofoegbu also added 12 of her own kills to join Colyer to co-lead the match. 

“[The setters] were putting us in great situations, and Roberta [Purashaj] did a good job of that today, just putting me in great situations,” Ofoegbu said. 

Once Rutgers figured out how to set up the defense to take away the outside for Oregon, the Knights forced the Ducks into mistakes. After a defensive miscue between Colyer and libero Mackenzie Morris, Rutgers took its first lead in the match at 16-15. 

What hurt the Ducks was their complacency on offense. While Ulmer’s squads tend to play much faster than their opponents, the offense was working too fast. At the same time, Oregon had a 13 point stretch where it only served three times, which prevented the Ducks from forcing the game to be played at their pace. 

Almost as soon as that stretch ended, Oregon started its comeback in the set. In fact, Oregon would lose just one more point in the first set. The Ducks took a 6-1 run at the end of the set to an emphatic 1-0 set lead — one which didn’t seem all too possible just seven points before. 

Oregon’s offense started the second set retaining all the momentum they secured at the end of the first. The Ducks found success spreading the ball out wide and forcing the Knights’ back line to drop, which allowed the strong arms like Colyer and Michelle Ohwobete to secure easy kills. 

Rutgers kept trying to slow the match down, but Oregon’s offense was too hard to stop, especially when the Ducks served. 

“We had a handful of people that went back there [to serve], and put runs together to put some pressure on them. I thought we executed from a pretty high level, and that was exciting to see,” Ulmer said.

The Knights put together a small spurt of scoring towards the end of the second set, but the control Oregon had over the game was clear and unrelenting. The Ducks easily took the second set 25-18, and the score doesn’t reflect how much Oregon dominated in the frame. 

Even if the defense slightly regressed at times, the offense never slowed down, which fueled the Ducks to a 2-0 lead. 

“[The Knights] don’t get blocked very often, and in the first set, I don’t think we had any blocks, which for us, that is very rare. It took us almost too long to adjust to what they were,” Ulmer said.

The Knights didn’t allow the third set to mirror the second, and they shored up their defense and stayed consistent on offense to force the Ducks into mistakes. The score sat at 13-10 at one point, and it looked as if Rutgers had a route back into the set, but Oregon’s excellent serving and suffocating attack shut down those hopes. 

The Ducks marched on the rest of the set and posted their second-straight sweep, which capped off a very successful week for the squad. 

“Overall, going 6-0 in sets on the weekend at home in this conference, feeling good about that, and we’ll have quite the stretch going forward, so we’ll continue to get better,” Ulmer said.

Oregon returns to action Wednesday night in Seattle to take on the Huskies at 6:30 p.m.

In its first game as the top-ranked team in the nation since 2012, the No. 1 Ducks (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) welcome the No. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) to Autzen Stadium. Oregon hopes to roll into the back half of this season still carrying its undefeated record, while the Illini hope to play spoiler to the party here in Eugene. Follow along for the ride, presented by The Duck Store. 

(Q4 – 8:45) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 38 – Sione Laulea grabs Altmyer’s second interception of the day, which will conclude my live updates due to my presence on the field for the rest of the quarter. Thank you for following along today!!

(Q4 – 9:04) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 38 – Andrew Boyle 44 yard attempt is good

(Q4 – 9:44) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 35 – Andrew Boyle on for a 44 yard attempt

(Q4 – 12:09) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 35 – Illinois get into Oregon territory, as far as the 28, but to no avail. Ducks’ defense forced a three and out.

(Q4 – 14:30) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 35 – Dillon Gabriel tries to force one over the middle, but it’s intercepted by Xavier Scott, Illinois takes over at the Oregon 47.

(Q3- 00:00) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 35 – End of the third quarter

(Q3- 00:46) Illinois: 9, Oregon: 35 – Touchdown Illinois. Ca’Lil Valentine punches it in from 4 yards and two point attempt fails.

(Q3- 2:08) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Illinois into the red zone after a 17 yard strike to Pat Bryant.

(Q3- 3:33) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Illinois forces it into Oregon territory with a checkdown that ran for 18 yards.

(Q3- 6:02) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – It looked like another Illinois drive would lead to a 3 and out, but Derrick Harmon’s toss of Aidan Laughery prompted a 15-yard penalty and an Illini first down.

(Q3- 9:25) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Gabriel with a checkdown to Patrick Herbert that stretches to a 29 yard completion. Ducks at their own 46

(Q3- 10:45) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – 4th and goal from the 2. Altmyer pass deflected at the line by Emar’rion Winston. Ducks take over at the 2.

(Q3- 12:48) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Franklin catch for 44 yards down the left sideline sets up Illinois first and goal at the 8.

(Q3- 13:15) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Illinois finally passes 100 total yards on the day with two first down on its first two possessions of the second half.

(Q2- 00:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – End of the first half

(Q2- 00:37) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 35 – Gabriel runs a speed option and pitches to Whittington, who punches it in from 2 yards out for another Oregon TOUCHDOWN. Sappington XP good.

(Q2- 1:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Oregon brings this all the way down to the Illinois 13 after a Lowe catch that ate up 17 yards.

(Q2- 1:23) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Noah Whittington cannot be tackled. A checkdown turns into an 18-yarder, as Whittington breaks multiple tackles en route to a large gain.

(Q2- 1:53) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Johnson wide open 24 yards down the middle. Injury timeout for an Illinois player

(Q2- 2:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Two Minute Timeout. Oregon ran one play for nine yards before.

(Q2- 3:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Oregon’s defense shores up and forces another Illinois punt.

(Q2- 4:44) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Illinois converts with a Hank Beatty 11 yard rush.

(Q2- 4:56) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Nikko Reed with a breakup of an Altmyer pass on first down. Altmyer scrambled for the Illinois 43 for a 3rd & 3 try.

(Q2- 6:09) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 28 – Noah Whittington finds space through the middle and DESTROYS an Illinois defender waiting on the goalline. TOUCHDOWN DUCKS from 18 yards out. XP good from Sappington.

(Q2- 8:32) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – Dillon Gabriel finds Evan Stewart for his over the middle for 19 yards and his first catch of the day.

(Q2- 9:22) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – Fair catch by Johnson. Ducks take over at their own 46

(Q2- 10:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – Altmyer SACKED by Devon Jackson for a loss of 11 and forces an Illinois punt. False start pushes the punt back 5 yards.

(Q2- 10:31) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – Pass is ruled incomplete and sets up a 3rd & 11 at the Illinois 34

(Q2- 10:31) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – 2nd & 11. Altmyer throws down the right sideline to Pat Bryant, who seemingly makes a wild catch for 24 yards and a first, but this will be reviewed.

(Q2- 11:33) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – McCray breaks through for 4 yards and gets the first

(Q2- 12:20) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 21 – Sappington XP good

(Q2- 12:20) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 20 – TOUCHDOWN DUCKS!!! Gabriel rumbled for 7 yards and a score on an option. Gabriel ran the play before for 6 yards and a first down. Oregon getting everything they want.

(Q2- 14:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Patrick Herbert was found wide open in the flat and rumbled 19 yards down to the Illinois 18 on 4th down.

(Q2- 14:20) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Sadiq catch goes for 16 yards, forcing a 4th & 1.

(Q2- 15:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Oregon false start makes this a 3rd & 17

(Q1- 0:00) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Gabriel takes a sack on first down and gains back 6 on a short throw to Holden, which sets up a 3rd & 12 on the Illinois 48. End of first quarter.

(Q1- 1:23) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Illinois kickoff goes out of bounds, setting up the Ducks at the 45 yard line. Gabriel finds Johnson on a screen for 19 yards and a first down.

(Q1- 1:34) Illinois: 3, Oregon: 14 – Illinois 38-yard kick is good. Illini get on the board.

(Q1- 1:40) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – Oregon defense working to keep the Illini out of the red zone. 3rd & 7 from the 20 is incomplete from Altmyer, setting up an Illinois field goal attempt.

(Q1- 2:53) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – Laughery carries for 9 yards on first and takes it 35 yards on second down. Refs threw a flag, but picked it up. Illinois with its second first down and continue its drive at the Oregon 23.

(Q1- 4:00) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – Oregon drain some clock, but ultimately is forced to punt after a 9 yard drive. Illinois takes over at its own 34.

(Q1- 5:29) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – INTERCEPTION!! Altmyer’s incredibly errant deep throw finds no one in white, but Tysheem Johnson found it. Ducks take over at their 14.

(Q1- 5:45) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – Josh McCray for a first down at their own 37.

(Q1- 6:00) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – Altmyer pass good for 8 yards on the first play to Franklin.

(Q1- 6:05) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 14 – PAT good from Atticus Sappington.

(Q1- 6:08) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 13 – TOUCHDOWN DUCKS!!!! Gabriel with a strike down the middle for all 34 yards and a touchdown to Justius Lowe. Lowe beat out his defenders on a seam through the middle, Gabriel put it right in the breadbasket to double the Ducks’ lead.

(Q1- 6:22) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – James around the right end for 7 yards and a first down at the Illinois 34.

(Q1- 6:28) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – A 6-yard Johnson catch and an incomplete pass intended for Stewart set up a 3rd & 4 for the Ducks.

(Q1- 7:45) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – James picks up just enough for the first down after a 3-yard gain.

(Q1- 8:08 ) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – Jordan James takes two rushes for a combined 8 yards. Oregon has a 3rd & 2 at the 50.

(Q1- 8:46) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – Illinois punt goes for 38 yards. The Ducks will take over at their own 42 yard line.

(Q1- 9:30) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – Illinois RB Aidan Laughery stopped for no gain by Derrick Harmon. Oregon’s defense forces a 3-and-out on its first attempt.

(Q1- 10:20) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – Altmyer SACKED at the Illinois 20 by Teitum Tuioti, setting up a 3rd & 15 for the away side.

(Q1- 10:49) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 7 – 3rd & 6 in what looks like 4-down territory. Gabriel pass caught over the middle for about 12 yards to Tez Johnson. Johnson dips and dives and shreds the Illinois for a 31-yard Oregon TOUCHDOWN!! Extra point is good from Sappington.

(Q1- 12:15) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 0 – End around to Sadiq goes for 15 yards. Oregon is already at the Illinois 35.

(Q1- 14:10) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 0 – Gabriel pass to Sadiq for 12 yards and a first, followed by another 12 yard pass, this time to Jordan James, Oregon is moving.

(Q1- 14:40) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 0 – Oregon can only manage 3 yards in the first two plays, setting up a 3rd & 7.

(Q1- 15:00) Illinois: 0, Oregon: 0 – Illinois win the toss, and defer its choice to the second half. Ducks ball to start.