The college football season is tough.

Now, consider the added challenge that conference realignment provides through the often-criticized travel schedule, which requires student athletes to make midweek trips cross-country — often to their detriment. 

After the conclusion of Week 8, Big Ten teams are 5-11 in conference games where they have to travel over multiple time zones. 

Six of those losses came when a team traveled from the western part of the country to the east — something the Ducks just experienced and will do again two more times before the season’s end.

This reimagined Big Ten conference has become the epitome of tough collegiate travel schedules due to the cross-country trek that some teams must make for match ups. For example, this past weekend, UCLA traveled 2,794 miles to Piscataway, NJ to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for a standard conference game. 

That was one of three games this past weekend that included teams traveling through multiple time zones. Three West Coast teams traveled east this week, and two pulled off wins — USC lost in College Park to the Terrapins while Oregon handled Purdue in West Lafayette. 

Some would say the No. 1 Ducks’ toughest tests of the regular season have passed, but the 4,464 miles left of a season that will end up totaling 15,222 miles says otherwise. In the Ducks’ two final road trips of the season, the total travel amounts to just under half of the 9,172 miles that Oregon ventured last season. This adjustment seems to have fatal consequences for teams making these treks.

That’s not how senior guard Marcus Harper II — who attended high school just an hour away from fellow Big Ten member Northwestern — sees it, however. 

“If you don’t make that travel on the regular and don’t know how to handle it. I kind of know how to do it, again the biggest thing is just sleep and eating and making sure you decrease inflammation in the body,” Harper said in the week leading up to Oregon’s trip to Purdue. “We’re going to Indiana, changing time zones, that plays [a large] part in terms of swelling and everything in the body. Just making sure you can get that recovery up.”

Harper, one of the team’s many grizzled veteran leaders, has traveled a fair amount in his 41 career games with the Ducks, but never experienced anything like the mission the team just undertook for a conference game at Purdue. 

Harper has the correct idea when it comes to the best way to reduce the negative effects of travel. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, the best way to reduce effects such as travel fatigue is to maximize sleep, adjust food and hydration strategies and make sure that light exposure and exercise coincide in order to stimulate the body adequately. 

With the different time zones, it’s not so much the length of travel, it’s more that college teams cannot arrive super early and acclimate themselves to the time difference, which throws off crucial parts of the system like the circadian rhythm and metabolism. Sleep, eating and hydration have the most clear-cut, positive impact on recovery.

“Sleep, sleep, sleep…get acclimated to that timezone real quick because you gotta play a game. If you’ve never done that before, it’ll mess with you a little bit,” Harper said. 

It’s no secret that Oregon tends to appeal to recruits from the west, given its location, so much of the team may be limited in the amount of experience they have traveling this long for a short period of time. 

“You’re bumping over those time zones, you got to get active real quick, hydration is a big thing too, you got to make sure you’re hydrated. I know you don’t want to [hydrate] on the plane, but that’s the biggest thing,” Harper said. 

It’s absolutely on-brand for this Oregon team to have every base covered, especially the often talked about travel schedule for most of the Big Ten. Nothing catches Dan Lanning by surprise — this is the No. 1 team in the country we’re talking about. 

This team has prided itself on its attention to detail and commitment to doing everything the right way, which is epitomized in how the team treats long, eastbound travel, especially in a shortened week. The commitment to this specific kind of excellence is sparked by trust in veterans like Harper, who know exactly the capabilities of a team that works to check off every single box possible.

“You gotta get a lot of sleep…just to get ahead of the process and even make it neutralized. So, you can do all the treatment in the world, but the best treatment is just sleep,” Harper said. “Luckily, I’m from [the Midwest], so [my teammates] can ask me if they need some help.”

With the 2024 NFL season well underway, there’s been a plethora of talented pro-Ducks that thrived in Eugene. The Ducks have one of the most robust groups of former players, with 25 on active rosters to start the season. 

Justin Herbert, Quarterback, Los Angeles Chargers

A Eugene native and one of the most beloved players in Oregon’s history has started his 2024 campaign 2-0. Herbert threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns over those two games, as the Chargers have relied on the run game more than they ever have. With Jim Harbaugh at the helm, Herbert is due for an exciting season filled with winning — something his young career has missed in recent seasons. 

Deommodore Lenoir, Defensive Back, San Francisco 49ers

A crucial piece for one of the best defenses in the league, Lenior racked up nine total tackles and a pass defense in the Niners’ first two games. Lenior grabbed three interceptions over the course of last season — one which he played in the Super Bowl — so it won’t be surprising to see the fourth-year veteran fill up the stat sheet once again. Lenior continues to excel in San Francisco and prove to be one of the best Pro Ducks. 

Penei Sewell, Offensive Tackle, Detroit Lions

Coming off an off-season where he signed the highest-paying contract ever for an offensive lineman, Sewell hasn’t missed a beat. Sewell played 146 snaps during the first two games without allowing a sack or picking up a penalty. It is hard to quantify just how effective Sewell is at his job, but becoming the highest-paid in a position is a great indicator of success, and the Lions have seen success unheard of in Detroit since Sewell’s selection in the first round of the 2021 draft.

Jevon Holland, Defensive Back, Miami Dolphins

Over the course of three seasons Holland became the nucleus of the Dolphins’ defense. As a safety, Holland has been able to affect the game in a variety of ways. While his eight total tackles and pass defense are nothing to bat an eye at, it was his forced fumble Week 1 against the Jaguars that proved his most impressive highlight. With running back Travis Etienne almost at the goaline for a score, Holland sprung toward the ball and punched it right out of his hands, preventing a score that would have taken the Dolphins out of the game. 

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Outside Linebacker, New York Giants

Thibodeaux hasn’t had the most electric start to his third season, tallying just four total tackles, only one tackle for loss and three QB hits. New York struggled in the first two games, falling to 0-2 largely behind the deficiencies in the offense. Thibodeaux will make his impact more as the season goes on, and hopes to match his excellent sack total of 11.5 from 2023. 

DeForest Buckner, Defensive Lineman, Indianapolis Colts

A captain for the Colts, Buckner dominated the trenches in a close Week 1 loss against the Houston Texans, with six total tackles, one for loss, 1.5 sacks and two QB hits. Buckner slowed down during Week 2 in Green Bay, but his presence has been felt this season. Buckner hasn’t tallied under 7.0 sacks since the 2017 season, and is still on pace to achieve success in that realm this season.

There’s been a lot of noise surrounding Oregon State’s (2-1) standing as the college football world shapeshifted over the last two years. The Beavers were left out of the conference-realignment fun, which almost spelled the end of their historic rivalry with the Ducks (3-0). 

The rivalry stayed, fans were greeted with the 128th rendition of this great state’s favorite classic and any noise surrounding the Beavers was silenced, as Saturday’s contest built on last year’s theme of straight Oregon dominance. 

With a 49-14 demolition of the Beavers, the No. 9 Ducks now set their sights on the new challenge brought upon by the monstrous Big Ten conference.

Oregon State’s offense relied heavily on its run game heading into Saturday afternoon’s contest, but the Beavers came out throwing on their first two plays. Both almost ended up in the hands of Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher, and the Ducks subsequently surrendered a first down on a 3rd-and-15 after a 37-yard Gevani McCoy scramble. 

Oregon State rumbled down to the Ducks’ 21-yard line with a 4th-and-inches, but a false start forced them to attempt a field goal. The Beavers passed up on their 43-yard opportunity to put the game’s first points on the board after an incredible effort from Matayo Uiagalelei to block the kick. 

The Ducks responded immediately with a rumbling drive of their own, which included a 4-4, 48-yard drive from Dillon Gabriel — 32 of those going to Tez Johnson — capped off by a 4-yard punch-in from Jordan James. 

That would start his electric 20-24, 291 yard and two touchdown performance.

“I love how everyone in the building has continued to focus on the process and getting better every single day. I think that allowed us to play confident, play free and let loose,” Gabriel said. 

Ducks broke the deadlock and took a quick 7-0 lead. 

One of the most prominent takeaways from that first drive was the offensive line. After two weeks of constant change along the front five, Oregon finally found its most efficient five, who dominated Oregon State’s defensive front. 

“I think the biggest thing you saw in this game is we had three penalties. I think that’s the biggest difference, when we don’t put ourselves in negative holes to start, especially coming into a [road game] environment,” head coach Dan Lanning said about his offensive line.

The Ducks’ inability to get off the field on third downs continued early, as Oregon’s defense gave up three third-down conversions en route to a 6-yard score from running back Anthony Hankerson. That play brought the opening quarter to a close with a 7-7 tie. 

Oregon made responding a theme that would last all day. After reading a heavy blitz pre-snap, Gabriel switched the formation, called an audible and, with the help of incredible blocking, waltzed 54 yards into the endzone. 

“It’s all blocks downfield, I didn’t get touched on the run…I’m just proud of the guys up front, just the way they compete and continue to do so. It’s been great to see,” Gabriel said.

The already silenced Reser Stadium got even quieter as the Ducks shocked the Beavers with a quick run to Kenyon Sadiq to score a two-point conversion and take a 15-7 lead. 

Oregon built on that defensively and forced the first punt of the game from the Beavers. 

An outstanding, eight play, 84-yard drive ensued for Gabriel and the Ducks. Largely on the success of James’ running, Oregon converted two third downs and Gabriel finished it off with a 20-yard that found Traeshon Holden in the back of the endzone.

As the game moved into its middle eight, Oregon found itself up 22-7. 

With the last six minutes of the first half, the Beavers ran down the clock with their run-heavy offensive attack. 

On Oregon State’s first play near the redzone, Oregon linebacker Devon Jackson picked up a roughing-the-passer penalty, which brought the ball up to the Oregon 11. 

With two running plays, the Beavers found themselves on the Oregon 1-yard line, and Hankerson easily punched it in to make the score 22-14 with just 15 seconds left in the first half. 

Despite only possessing the ball for nine of the game’s first 30 minutes, the Ducks took a lead into the break.

Gabriel continued his dominance early in the second half, and drove the Ducks all the way down to the Oregon State 7-yard line. Gabriel threw his first incompletion of the game on a 3rd-and-goal, which set up an Atticus Sappington chip shot to make the game 25-14. 

The Ducks’ defense forced their first 3-and-out on the next drive and set up a premium opportunity to take a three-score lead. 

Oregon proceeded to take it right to the Beavers’ defense with a mix of hard-nosed run plays — Noah Whittington picked up 32 of his 64 yards on that drive — and excellent quarterback play from Gabriel. 

Gabriel linked with Johnson after a pinpoint, 27-yard toss, which set the Ducks up inside the 10. After two rushes from James, Oregon tacked on six more and broke the contest wide open. 

Another 3-and-out followed for the Beaver offense, which led into another dominant offensive drive for Oregon. The Ducks put the contest out of reach with the first play in the fourth quarter, a 27-yard run into the endzone for Whittington. 

At that point “Let’s Go Ducks” chants could be heard ringing around Reser Stadium, and the Orange-clad fans started filing out of the building — a drastically different scene from the last time this rivalry was played in Corvallis

“I can’t put into words, obviously, how different [winning] is, but it’s a way better feeling,” Boettcher said.

Shortly after, Gabriel decided his work was not finished. 

He flipped an easy screen over to Jayden Limar, who raced 65 yards without being touched and gave the Ducks a 32-point lead. 

That lead only grew, and Saturday’s game wrapped up as a 49-14 blowout win for the Ducks over the rival Beavers. Oregon never punted as it handed the Beavers their first loss of the young season.

Oregon takes a major win and a boatload of improvements into a bye week.