The No. 12 Oregon Ducks (9-1, 1-1 Big Ten) won all of their first nine games to begin the season, which was fueled by the team’s ability to fight back while down late in games. The Ducks’ second Big Ten matchup against the UCLA Bruins (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) ended much differently. 

Even after a tremendous come from behind effort, and a would-be game winner from Jackson Shelstad, the Ducks surrendered a game-winning three by UCLA’s Dylan Andrews on the final shot of the game. Oregon dropped the first game of this young season 73-71 against a squad that will end up ranked in the next AP poll. 

“We should never let it get to that. We had so many possessions that, if we would’ve changed them during the game, we wouldn’t have been in that position. Those shots are always big, but there were so many things prior to that that we needed to clean up,” head coach Dana Altman said. 

Oregon’s offensive woes showed up yet again early in the contest, as the Ducks missed all of their first six shots. It wasn’t until a Nate Bittle tip-in over three minutes in that Oregon got on the scoreboard for the first time. 

That would be the first two of Bittle’s 14 first half points, and the senior center finished Sunday’s contest with a game-leading 22 points and 10 rebounds. 

“Nate did some really good things, I thought,” Altman said. 

The Ducks eventually blossomed that into a 6-0 run and their first lead of the game at 6-5. That run was made possible by the over three minute drought that UCLA sustained during that stretch. 

UCLA shot the 3-pointer incredibly well during the first 10 minutes, as the Bruins opened up Sunday afternoon by making four of their first seven attempts from deep. That number settled at 45% for the half and 52% for the game. 

With about nine minutes left in the opening half, it looked like something had flipped for Oregon. Kwame Evans Jr. tore through the lane for an and-one to drop UCLA’s lead back down to single-digits, which seemed to spark the energy in Matthew Knight Arena. 

On the following possession, Jadrian Tracey sank the Ducks’ first three of the game, which seemed to drop the collective inconsistencies Oregon had on offense. 

Just under a minute later, Jackson Shelstad, waltzed past half court and unloaded a scorcher for the team’s second three, which was followed by a deep Bittle catch-and-shoot that made it a one-point game. 

The Ducks finally tied the game up with three minutes to go in the opening frame, which, unsurprisingly, came from a wide-open Shelstad three. Despite not making a three for the first 11 minutes of the contest, Oregon ended the first half 5-11 from beyond the arc. It was another Bittle three that gave Oregon the lead at 32-29 for the first time since it was 6-5.

Shelstad scored all of his eight first half points in the final seven minutes of the frame, and his excellence ensured the Ducks would have the lead entering the break, as Oregon led 34-33 after the first 20 minutes. 

There was even less to split the two sides to begin the second half. Through four minutes, the teams were tied at 41 and each was shooting above 50% in the frame. 

After the opening five minutes of the second, the game quieted down significantly, especially with the ways that UCLA’s full-court press started to cause miscues for Oregon’s offense. With 11 minutes to play, the Ducks found themselves facing a six-point deficit. 

“I’m still in shock about what happened, honestly, but we do have a sense of resiliency as a team. We can win any game,” Keeshawn Barthelemy said. 

A quick Barthelemy three — a theme for second halves this season — and an incomplete Tracey and-one brought Oregon back to one-point behind within a minute. 

Oregon tied it up shortly afterwards, but each time the Ducks got close, UCLA would hit a huge shot to silence the crowd. Coupled with the full-court press that Oregon struggled mightily to break, the Bruins controlled the game when they needed to. 

That was until the Ducks started employing a press of their own. Altman’s press led Oregon on an 8-3 run during the first two minutes of its employment. The run was capped off by an incredible effort play from Barthelemy to block UCLA big man Tyler Bilodeau, which led into a Bittle layup to make it a two-point game. 

Bittle then tipped an entry pass, which was collected by Tracey, and the Ducks wasted no time getting up the court. The shot clock was off, and Shelstad saw his green light as soon as he crossed half court. 

Shelstad found space, pulled and didn’t come close to hitting the rim — nothing but net, Ducks up by one with 10 seconds. 

The Ducks just didn’t have the last shot. 

UCLA’s Dylan Andrews had the ball the whole way. He slipped near midcourt, but coming off a screen he found his spot, stepped back and banked in a winner to stun the crowd at Matthew Knight Arena. 

“We were switching ball screens and [Bittle] contested it really well,” Altman said. “He banked one in.”  

Oregon fell 73-71 in one of the more electrifying games it has played so far this season. 

The Ducks move on to take on Stephen F. Austin University next Sunday at 3 p.m. 

“A lot of things to work on,” Altman said. 

The Ducks looked shaky at times, but behind the excellence of Mimi Colyer, who finished with 19 kills, and impressive defense, Oregon pulled out a four-set victory (19-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-15) over TCU. 

“I thought they gave us everything in the first set, we were really on our heels, but I loved our response and I was really proud of our fight and the adjustments we made. I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. 

No. 14 Oregon women’s volleyball entered the NCAA tournament winning three of its last four regular season matches and followed that up with a sweep over High Point University to begin the Ducks’ postseason run. 

Oregon’s contest against the No. 20 Texas Christian University Horned Frogs in Friday night’s second round would not come as easily, however. 

Each team started out flaunting high-tempo offenses, which was the catalyst for the quick scoring early in the match. TCU pounced on early Oregon miscues and took its first lead. The Horned Frogs played smart, consistent volleyball in the opening set to take a firm grip on the early portion of the match. 

The Horned Frogs didn’t allow the Ducks to get within three points at all once they built a lead larger than that. After it looked like Oregon could start surging back, TCU once again maintained its consistent play, and rattled off a 4-0 run to bring the Frogs within two points of clinching the set. 

The Ducks responded, but it wasn’t enough. TCU took the first set 25-19 and forced Oregon to start playing from behind early. 

The second set started just as fast as the first, and, unfortunately for the Ducks, followed a similar script. TCU took its first substantial lead at 10-7, which caused Oregon’s composed manner to begin the set to vanish. 

The Horned Frogs made sure to convert on sideout opportunities, and led the game 60% to the Ducks’ 45% in the opening set. Those numbers eventually flipped completely by the end of the match, as Oregon ended the match leading that battle 55% to TCU’s 42%. 

“We passed so poorly in that first set, we couldn’t find any rhythm, and credit to their serving, I thought they served really tough,” Ulmer said. “They were help-blocking in the middle, so we just really needed to score some points there, so the passing game needed to get going so [Cristin Cline] can run the offense…everyone else got going from there and gave us confidence.”

TCU’s offense performed especially well when it was able to feed Melanie Parra, whose incredible power and length often left Oregon clueless defensively. Parra finished the contest with 18 kills, just one behind match-leading Colyer, and collected three service aces. 

“Their outsides were fantastic. I thought Parra, we knew how good she was going to be, is even better than you think. That was a really nice battle,” Ulmer said. 

The Ducks stayed in the second set much better than they did in the first, and Oregon took a 17-15 lead that swayed momentum in its favor. 

TCU eventually tied it at 21, which spelled trouble for the Ducks, who desperately needed to win the second set. That urgency showed, and the Ducks went on an excellent 4-0 run to win the set 25-21 and make this contest much more manageable than what would have been a 2-0 deficit entering the third set. 

TCU remained close to begin the set, but an 8-0 scoring run from the Ducks solidified a 13-4 lead and conserved the momentum they gained by winning the previous set. That lead blossomed to double-digits by the midpoint of the set, and the Ducks were cruising. 

Oregon sailed smoothly to the end of the frame and took it 25-11, which put the Ducks ahead in sets for the first time in the match. 

“Look at our serving,” Ulmer said. “That is statistically one of the better passing teams in the country, and we set 12 aces. We really took them out with our serving, and that was from a lot of people.” 

The Ducks continued their run of outstanding play by winning the first four points of the fourth set and seven of the first eight. TCU stormed back with a small run of its own, but the momentum swing in favor of Oregon was just too drastic to overcome, especially with the hometown crowd. 

Oregon cruised to another easy set win and finished off the match 25-15. The Ducks made it look incredibly easy in the last two sets, grabbed crucial momentum for the next rounds and, most importantly, secured their spot in next weekend’s Sweet Sixteen. 

“It’s really fun to see what we can do. I felt like tonight was a big test,” senior middle Onye Ofoegbu said. “Every game from this point on is a big test for us, it was awesome to see what we could do as a team.”

Oregon won’t know exactly where it’s traveling or who it is playing next round until Saturday night, but if Friday’s win is any indication, these Ducks are ready to make a deep run.

After rivalry week claimed two of last week’s Top 10 teams as casualties, the conference championship picture drastically changed. Most importantly, the lowly, 7-5 Michigan Wolverines knocked off the then-No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the latest iteration of “The Game.”

Because of that shocking upset, Oregon, who was all but penciled-in to take on Ohio State in this weekend’s Big Ten Championship, now faces the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions in Indianapolis on Saturday. 

The Nittany Lions secured their spot by winning their last four games, which all came after Penn State’s sole loss of the season against Ohio State. Much can be said about the lack of strength in Penn State’s schedule, but the Nittany Lions do have the 36th ranked strength of schedule, while the No. 1 Ducks hold just the 60th strongest. 

Penn State outscored its opponents 154-48 in its last four games, so the Nittany Lions are coming into the conference championship game hot. 

The team is led by quarterback Drew Allar, who remained towards the top end of Big Ten quarterbacking statistics throughout the season. Allar tallied 2668 passing yards (sixth best in Big Ten), 18 touchdowns (fifth) and completed 71.6% of his passes (third, fifth best nationally). 

The offense is spearheaded by the two-headed rushing monster of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who rank 12th and 13th respectively in the Big Ten with 733 and 698 rushing yards. Penn State’s running game ranks second in the Big Ten with 194.7 yards per game. The Ducks allow just 112.4 rushing yards per game, and the Nittany Lions’ ground attack will be the best Oregon has faced this season. 

The passing game is nothing to balk at, however. Although Penn State ranks seventh in the conference in passing, it is led by one of the nation’s best tight ends in Tyler Warren. Warren played a plethora of positions throughout the season, but he ranks second amongst TEs in receiving yards (978), third in receptions (81) and tied for third in touchdowns with six. Last week against Maryland, Warren became the Big Ten Conference’s all-time leader in receptions by a tight end. 

Penn State’s success comes primarily from the strength of its defense, which ranks third in the Big Ten in total defense (266.8 yards per game) and fourth in the nation in the same category. The group is led by one of the top NFL prospects in the upcoming draft, edge rusher Abdul Carter. 

Carter ranks third in the country with 19.5 tackles for loss, and 10 of those came from quarterback sacks. The Oregon offensive line will have its hands full containing one of the conference’s finest defensive units, but the Ducks’ offense has a lot to say for itself. 

Oregon ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring with 35.2 points per game and first in total offense with 448.5 yards per game, so the elite Penn State defense will also have its hands full. 

Saturday’s Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, brings together one of the nation’s finest defenses with an offense which has yet to be stopped sufficiently this season. Penn State and head coach James Franklin will bring their hard-nosed defensive approach to Indiana to take on Oregon and head coach Dan Lanning’s electric offensive scheme. 

The winner of the Big Ten will almost certainly secure one of the top seeds in the College Football Playoff, earning the closest thing to home field advantage that this new format can offer, which includes the choice of venues for playoff contests. 

The No. 1 seed is on the line Saturday, and you won’t want to miss it.

It’s no secret that a lot of the success of this No. 1 Oregon squad can be attributed to the team’s experience. There are 26 seniors or redshirt-seniors playing for the Ducks this season. Of those 26 seniors, 21 of them have been featured on the field in meaningful moments, so the impact of the experience shows. 

Unfortunately, now that it is the second half of the football season, many of these athletes will begin to look at the next level. The NFL draft process is well underway, as scouts have been spotted at each of Oregon’s opening nine games this season. 

Where will all of the departing Ducks end up?

Derrick Harmon

Harmon transferred in this season from Michigan State and didn’t carry outstanding expectations with him. However, the senior defensive tackle proved his worth and then some in his concluding season in Eugene. Harmon registered 16 solo tackles, 3.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in the season’s nine games so far. This has caused him to receive heavy consideration to be selected in the top two rounds of the draft, and he has been ranked as a first rounder as recently as last week. 

According to NFL Mock Draft Database, which is a website that collects data from the latest mock drafts around the country, Harmon is Oregon’s highest-rated player entering the 2025 draft. 

Evan Stewart

Although he doesn’t necessarily need to enter the draft after this season, the Ducks’ second highest-ranked prospect Stewart has put on a show throughout his first few months in Eugene. Stewart hauled in 31 catches for 462 yards and four touchdowns in the first nine games. 

His speed off the line of scrimmage and incredible catch radius — demonstrated multiple times this past weekend in Michigan — will be valuable in this year’s draft. Stewart appeared in 33.9% of first rounds and averaged 55th throughout all the drafts compiled. 

Given that information, there is a high chance Stewart enters his name in the 2025 draft. 

Josh Conerly Jr. 

Oregon’s true junior tackle follows a similar story as Stewart, as Conerly doesn’t necessarily need to enter the draft in 2025. Especially since all the discussion around the 2026 draft slates him as a definite early first round pick.

Relative to the others mentioned here, Conerly hasn’t been mentioned in as many mock drafts, which is mainly due to his uncertain status as it regards declaring. His highest projection was the 15th pick, but that came preseason. 

As a five-star recruit coming out of high school, Conerly always garnered eyes from the top level in the sport, so his decision can definitely go either way this coming offseason. 

Jordan Burch

Burch entered this season coming off an injury and also picked up a knock before the Ohio State game which kept him out until this most recent week. Burch’s most recent mock draft appearance was for a fourth-round selection in the upcoming 2025 draft.

 Burch added 22 total tackles, 5 sacks, three pass deflections and a fumble recovery to his impressive resume so far this season. The senior edge rusher has been projected as a third or fourth round pick by most websites that do mock drafts. 

As his injury sustained last season kept him from declaring this past offseason, another injury would surely derail a promising professional career for Burch. Barring that catastrophe, Burch will be seen on Sundays next year, and will likely be drafted on the second day.

Have you heard or seen that Oregon is the No. 1 ranked team in college football? Probably. But even after another resounding victory over another ranked team, head coach Dan Lanning and his squad still won’t acknowledge it. 

The Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) trampled No. 20 Illinois (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) 38-9 in front of a yellow-clad crowd that’s hungry for glory.

“[Illinois] put themselves in position to have that opportunity [to play the No. 1 team], but that’s all that is, it’s an opportunity. Success only matters if you’re satisfied, and I know my team’s not,” Lanning said postgame. 

Even after a six reception, 102-yard performance that began with an ankle-breaking, 31-yard touchdown, receiver Tez Johnson remains unfazed as well. 

“We don’t care about the No. 1 spot, we just care about going 1-0 at the end of the week. It’s good and all, but we don’t really care that we’re No. 1, we just want to win football games,” Johnson said. 

Don’t let the team’s nonchalance fool you, Oregon just walloped a Top-25 team, and, let’s be real, that game was over by halftime. 

The Ducks had six possessions in the first half and scored a touchdown on five of those. In fact, the shortest scoring drive in that stretch was still a 54-yard march down the field capped off by a Noah Whittington truck on the goal line. 

That play described the whole game — utter dominance. 

“It’s awesome seeing guys play physical, I think it’s something our team prides itself in, and when you get the opportunity to run through a man’s face, there’s nothing better than that,” Lanning said. 

The quiet and calm in the face of having the nation’s biggest target on their back seems almost too normal for the Ducks. They know about this pressure, but almost more as if it were someone beckoning far off from the nosebleeds rather than it being right in front of them, as it would seem to lay people like us. 

“When you’re at the top of the food chain, everybody wants to be that. Everyday we know we got a target on our back, but we don’t care who’s coming after us,” Johnson said. 

This team has an unbelievable ability to shrug off national praise, expectation and, even at points, scrutiny. Don’t forget that just two weeks into the season, there was the notion spreading that something needed to change — even quarterback Dillon Gabriel had his job questioned. 

Gabriel has since turned in Heisman-caliber performances every week, including his 291-yard, three-touchdown performance on 18 of 26 passing mixed in with a physical score on the ground against Illinois. 

This game became special for Gabriel, as well. The Ducks’ sixth-year quarterback made history and moved up to No. 2 on both the all-time FBS passing yards and touchdowns list.

His reaction? “Who cares?” Lanning said last Monday to Matt Prehm of 247sports. 

“I’m chasing wins, that’s where I’m at. To be quite honest, that’s been the goal of mine for a long time, but now more than ever. You play a long career like I did, and you realize a lot of things. I choose winning 100% of the time,” Gabriel said. 

With all of the outside noise, all of the national lists having the Ducks on top and all the supposed pressure on this team, they stay consistent by consistently ignoring what is and can be said about expectations for this team. 

Yes, the Ducks are No. 1, and deservedly so, but this season is much longer than the eight games Oregon has played. There’s more football to be played, and even some areas where the Ducks can improve. 

Simply put, the job is not finished.

Catch your breath, Ducks fans. 

What was widely lauded as one of the biggest games in Autzen Stadium history fell in the favor of the hometown team, which is not something many Oregon fans can say given the Ducks’ track record in their most important games. 

However, Oregon pulled it out this time against the supposed kings of the Big Ten, then No. 2 Ohio State. After a nail-biting 60 minutes, Oregon edged the Buckeyes, and now what?

What does the rest of the season look like now that the wicked witch is dead, in a sense?

How can the Ducks carry this incredible momentum into the latter half of this, seemingly destined, playoff campaign?

The answer is consistency. 

Head Coach Dan Lanning constantly stresses how the most important game is the next one, and often preaches his method of not celebrating victories, even one of the biggest ones in Oregon’s history. 

“I’m really excited to figure out what we can go attack and improve because the team we are today, Oct. 12, is not gonna be the same team we are in December,” Lanning said. 

This squad’s commitment to improving every week clearly starts from the top and goes down throughout the Ducks’ locker room. This just means that there is no time now to dwell on this victory and, in fact, there is no time to waste in picking apart this contest and getting better. 

Expect Lanning’s squad to show no indication of the Herculean feat they just pulled off. 

While the image of cornerback Dontae Manning standing along the barriers to the field will stay burned into the memory of Ducks fans forever, that is about as much as you will see. This team has always been ready for this moment, especially what happens after a major win. 

“We knew that regardless of the result of this game every single one of our goals was in front of us,” Lanning said. “Certainly having a win affects your ability to accomplish your goals later on in the season.”

Those goals are currently shaping up to include a second meeting with the ever-prolific Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7. 

There seems to be no reality in which the Big Ten Championship doesn’t include Oregon and Ohio State. Both teams are through what was always meant to be the toughest challenge of the season for each side — although each came out of it much differently. 

Oregon has two matchups against currently ranked opponents — in Eugene against No. 22 Illinois and in Ann Arbor against No. 24 Michigan — and Ohio State has three — most notably a matchup with current No. 3 ranked Penn State in Happy Valley. 

“Everything’s still on the table for both teams, I know they’re gonna put themselves in a position to continue to compete and be in great shape the rest of the season,” Lanning said.

If the season becomes as everyone predicted, which it almost never does, the two powerhouses responsible for one of the most exciting games of the year will meet again for another chance at an instant classic. All each team has to do now is win out, which sounds easy, but it never is. 

That’s the reality Lanning has come to terms with, and he will take nothing for granted as his Ducks try to emulate some of the finest teams in Oregon’s history of success.

“This isn’t one of those teams I have to motivate to work, they embrace it,” Lanning said.

“Pretty fun week if you’re a Duck fan,” was how head coach Matt Ulmer opened his post-match press conference. 

Sweeps aren’t always the reality, however, and No. 11 Oregon learned that the hard way. Oregon fought its way back from a 2-1 set deficit to claim a five-set victory against No. 24 Washington (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-12). 

The Ducks (13-2, 5-1 BIG) came off a nail-biting sweep of the No. 16 USC Trojans and took that impressive momentum into Matthew Knight Arena Sunday afternoon into another ranked matchup with the Huskies (13-3, 3-3 BIG). 

The Ducks started the first set slow and looked out of the game mentally. Oregon failed to convert on an offensive play until its fourth point, which was a Michelle Ohwobete kill — her first of 12 in the afternoon.  

The Ducks’ main issue was the inability to consistently break through Washington’s block, as many point blank hits couldn’t find their way behind the ever-present Husky arms. 

Mimi Colyer, the star for the Ducks, managed to get herself in the match early, and she finished with a dominant 25 kills — which led all players. 

“I was going up and staying aggressive. [Cristin Cline] did a great job of keeping me high, so I could see everything, and I could see the court, see the defense and be aggressive,” Colyer said. 

After a 17-16 Husky lead, Oregon took a 5-1 run into a commanding lead that it wouldn’t give up.

The Ducks failed to keep that momentum going in the ensuing set, especially towards the beginning. Washington’s offense dominated, as Oregon’s front line was exposed and the Husky front three found no trouble exploiting gaps.

As the set went on, the Ducks lost more and more control of the game, and they endured a 7-2 run to go down 16-9. 

After a big Washington run, the Ducks went on a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 4. It just wouldn’t be enough in the set, and the Huskies fought off a few late Oregon runs to even the match at one set apiece with a 25-22 win. 

The Ducks began set three flat-footed as well. There was little communication, which hurt Oregon on both sides of the ball.

“I feel like [Colyer] was carrying us for the first two sets. I thought the connection between [Cline] and a few hitters tonight was not great, and part of that is they are a tough serving team, and that’s how matches are gonna go against a team serving like that,” Ulmer said. 

Washington jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the third set, but Oregon had something up its sleeve. 

Led by the brilliance and athleticism of Michelle Ohwobete, the Ducks strung together a 9-1 run in the middle of the set to cut the score to 14-13. After a Washington timeout, the Huskies found their footing once again to try and make sure the Ducks couldn’t storm all the way back. 

Oregon’s early deficit in the third set became too much to overcome, and the Ducks never led in the set after Washington started its run of excellence. The Huskies’ main point of success stemmed from their ability to find the gaps on the floor and force the Ducks to try and make tough defensive plays. 

“We’ve been one of the best blocking teams in the country, and even though we blocked 13 balls, I thought we blocked very poorly, our block was all over, we were reaching, not very disciplined. That makes it really hard on the floor defense,” Ulmer said. 

Washington took the set 25-19 and controlled all the momentum going into the fourth set. 

“We were very much out of rhythm for the first three sets, and it felt like forever to turn the bus around,” Ulmer said. “It was a real slow turn, but credit to our group for getting it together.”

Oregon finally built some momentum during the fourth set, as it put together a 5-1 run to take an 11-9 lead, which the Ducks did not give up throughout the rest of the set. 

The Ducks rode their impressive stretch of play in the fourth set to a 25-21 set win to tie the match at two and send it to a fifth and final set for all the marbles. 

Washington found its offense, which the Ducks started to have a hard time dealing with once again. The Huskies jumped out to a 9-2 run, which was good for a 9-5 lead early in the final set. 

Oregon tied it up at 12 after a 3-0 scoring run, which built to six and a 15-12 set win for the Ducks. The rally in the fifth set capped off what was an emotionally draining win for the Ducks, who now have won two-straight ranked matchups. 

The Ducks go on another road trip to take on No. 9 Wisconsin in Madison this Friday at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Potential playoff preview. Many say that Oregon v.s. Ohio State has the best odds of being in the Big Ten championship matchup. 

Will the winner of this blockbuster become the new national No. 1? It’s easy to forget — we’re only in Week 7. 

The stakes for the upcoming matchup between the No. 3 Oregon Ducks and the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes have elevated each week. Both teams will enter Saturday undefeated and both have had a lot of eyes on them every week leading up to now. 

When a top team in the country hiccups — or has any amount of trouble against a not-so-amazing team — everyone’s on notice. This past weekend saw four of the top-11 teams fall to inferior opponents, with Ohio State “only” leading the Iowa Hawkeyes by one touchdown at halftime. 

Oregon hasn’t been absolved from this phenomenon so far this season. The first two matchups showed that the Ducks can hiccup and pull out some victories, especially when it required a game-winning field goal against now No. 17 Boise State. 

Both the Ducks and Buckeyes underwent their fair share of tests during the first six weeks of the season, but this matchup may be the one that comes up again as the season goes on. The two teams have been on a collision course, and one that may see 

At this point, Ohio State and Oregon are the clear front-runners in the conference. With defending-national champion Michigan falling out of contention this past weekend, the Big Ten is primed for a new top dog. 

The moniker of the conference’s best — one which will almost surely be tested again come championship weekend — is at stake Saturday evening, as Autzen Stadium becomes the center of the football world once again. 

If the season ended today, both schools would be ranked in the top three, vying for a first-round bye. Unfortunately, only one team can earn said off week in the new 12-team College Football Playoff format. Saturday’s game will separate the two, lining one up in an even better position for a bye. The Big Ten Champion will almost-certainly earn a bye, so stakes would be even higher if the Ducks and Buckeyes meet again in Indianapolis at the end of the year. 

At this point, it would be incredibly surprising to see one of these schools not make it to the grand finale of the Big Ten’s season. With all the movement in other conferences, a game like this could be the difference between the top seed and not when it comes down to playoff time. 

Saturday will prove the biggest test of the season. In a lot of ways, it can prove to be a preview of December 7th’s conference finale. This holds especially true if both of these teams live up to their expectations, which include winning out after this game. 

However, that may not happen, which makes the game at hand even more important. Whoever wins will take the mantle of the Big Ten’s best, at least until another hiccup happens. But it hasn’t happened yet, and leads us perfectly into the most anticipated 4:30 p.m. kickoff of the season.

With some of the most explosive, offensive former Ducks on a bye week this past weekend — most notably Penei Sewell and Justin Herbert — let’s take a look at how some of Oregon’s former defensive stalwarts fared this week. 

Deommodore Lenoir, Cornerback, San Francisco 49ers

While Lenoir’s niners are off to a rocky, 2-3 start to the season, the fourth-year veteran had his best game of the season statistically this past weekend in a narrow 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Lenoir tallied eight tackles — the most he has all season —  and defended one pass, as he again helped anchor what continues to be one of the league’s best defenses. Lenoir has impressed all season, building on his incredible 2023 campaign. 

Evan Williams, Safety, Green Bay Packers

The rookie safety hadn’t been given the opportunity on the field all that much in the first four weeks, but due to injuries in Green Bay’s secondary, Williams saw his chance and made the most of it. In the Packers’ close win against the Rams on Sunday, Williams totaled 10 tackles, which was five times his previous best of two against the Colts in Week 2. Williams also added two pass deflections, with the second being the most important of the game. On a 4th-and-5, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Williams stepped in front of Matthew Stafford’s pass, forced an incompletion and gave the Packers the ball to kneel the clock out. 

Christian Gonzalez, Cornerback, New England Patriots

Gonzalez seems to improve every week. In just his sophomore season, Gonzalez has already carved out a clear role as the top corner in New England, and is well on his way to becoming one of the finest corners in the NFL. Gonzalez tied his season-best in tackles with six, added two pass deflections and picked up his first interception of the season after perfectly cutting under a slant route and making an incredible diving catch. Gonzalez spent most of the game shadowing Miami’s All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill and holding him to a relatively quiet day — an impressive feat for any defensive back, let alone someone in their second year. 

Jamal Hill, Linebacker, Houston Texans

Hill saw his first action of the season this Sunday in a 23-20 win against the Buffalo Bills. The rookie linebacker made the most of his first professional opportunity, as he made his first career tackle and even got all the way to Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen for a QB hit. The Texan’s finally found their use for him, as they played a very mobile quarterback in Allen, and Hill can slot in to help curb that due to his speed and size for his position. 

Arik Armstead, Defensive End, Jacksonville Jaguars

The 10-year veteran has had a quiet start to the season in 2024, but he just helped his Jaguars win their first game of the season. Armstead accrued two tackles in the close win against the Colts, but only registered five in the previous four games. Armstead also has only recorded one sack so far this season, and it is evident that his improvement could be a major key to the Jaguars’ improvement, as they currently sit at 1-4 on the season.

After getting dominantly swept all the way across the country in State College, PA, the No. 11 Ducks (12-2, 4-1 BIG) entered another ranked matchup reeling. 

It turned out that this was just what Oregon needed. The Ducks played three outstanding sets (25-18, 27-25, 25-19) to sweep the No. 16 USC Trojans (11-4, 3-2 BIG). 

It wasn’t exceptionally dominant or stat-heavy, but it was a great team win that required astute defense and a group effort on offense to take a top-25 sweep into Oregon’s third-straight ranked matchup on Sunday.  

The first set lived up to the electric matchup that this always promised to be. It was back and forth, bodies on both sides were flying and each team refused to let the ball hit the ground. 

The Ducks went on a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead, but the Trojans came charging back with a 4-0 run of their own to take an 8-7 lead. As both sets of middle blockers remained concrete throughout the beginning of the set, each team needed to get this game onto their front foot. 

Due to USC’s defensive focus on Oregon’s star Mimi Colyer, the game flowed through everyone else — most notably Michelle Ohwobete who racked up three of her eight kills in the opening set.

“[Michelle] was really cautious the first set-and-a-half. She was our best passer, statistically, for the second match in a row, and she was doing everything,” head coach Matt Ulmer said. 

Colyer eventually got hers, however, and tallied five of her whopping 17 kills in the first set. 

“Staying aggressive, which is a big thing not just for me, but for everyone. Going in with an attack mindset and then seeing what you’re given with the set, the block and the defense,” Colyer said. “I tried to stay as aggressive as I could and I tried to throw good shots when I saw it.”

Every time the Ducks gained any foothold, the Trojans came right back — and vice versa. 

USC called a timeout down 20-18 after Oregon strung together some effective volleyball that forced Trojan errors and opened up the Ducks’ offense. 

That timeout did nothing to help matters, as the Ducks carried on and ended the set on a 7-0 run behind excellent defense and a takeover by Colyer, who was responsible for four of the seven points in the run (three kills, one block). 

The Ducks looked tremendously more comfortable at the start of the second set, as each dig or pass looked easy and routine. Setter Cristin Cline distributed at an elite level, and once Colyer got going, there was no stopping her. 

Cline assisted 33 times and had five digs, and her selfless play elevated all of her teammates. 

“There’s a lot of pressure on [Cline] to succeed as the quarterback without a ton of experience, but she’s gaining it. The big thing for her is set choices, and tonight, for the most part, she made really good choices,” Ulmer said. 

However, USC hung around despite the Ducks’ free-flowing offense, and did just enough to force errors and stay in the match. 

Oregon found Colyer much more as the set continued, and her stats reflected that. She duplicated her first set total of five when the score was 14-13 Ducks in the second set. 

Once again, the set became a true back-and-forth battle. Neither team could generate enough offense to take a firm grip of the game towards the end of the set, which made this just another game of “Who messes up first?”

That answer became evident quite quickly — no one. 

Each team saw spurts of positive volleyball, but couldn’t string together two points in a row to win the game. It went all the way to a 25-25 tie before the Ducks finally converted on a powerful spike from Onye Ofoegbu to take the set 27-25 and put Oregon in position to sweep. 

“I thought we had really important execution at the end of that second set. In that second set, I feel like we let a few points go…and that got them that lead,” Ulmer said. “So I thought we walked back down to our game plan pretty well.”

The back-and-forth nature of this match carried into the third set, but at a mid-point in the set, it seemed as if USC could take one off the Ducks. It definitely looked like USC’s set to lose when the Trojans used a 4-0 run to take a 13-11 lead in the set, which forced an Oregon timeout.

That timeout did wonders for the Ducks, as they subsequently took a dominant 11-2 run to firmly take the lead 22-15 and begin to end this match on Oregon’s terms. 

The Ducks eased their way into an excellent sweep of a tough USC squad. The last set ended 25-19, with a smashing hit from Ofoegbu to finish off the Trojans. 

Oregon comes back to Matthew Knight Arena at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday to take on No. 24 Washington.