It’s not easy to miss N’Faly Dante, but as Oregon men’s basketball assembled for its 2024 Big Ten Media Day, there was an obvious, 7-foot, 230-pound hole. A team searching for its identity was missing its central piece. The day was quieter than the last.

For the Ducks, replacing Dante, who graduated after winning Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2023-24 and was drafted into the Houston Rockets’ system, won’t be a plug-and-play solution. The Malian was far too unique for that, and Dana Altman has no one close to his physicality and size. 

Instead, they’ll look to “Dante-by-committee”: a combination of center Nate Bittle and bigger, stronger forwards will execute Altman’s vision of a faster, small-ball scheme that he hopes will allow the Ducks to thrive in their new conference.

Last year, Dante averaged 10 field goal attempts per game, to go with his 9.2 total rebounds and 17 points. That’s what the Ducks are trying to replace.

Bittle, Oregon’s only 7-footer on the roster this year, is returning from a frustrating junior season in Eugene. The center missed 31 of Oregon’s 36 total games due to an illness and wrist injury. He’s been rehabbing and added 30 lbs of muscle over the summer, so he will be a strong option when the Ducks need to go big.

Altman talked about Bittle’s value on defense at Oregon’s 2024 Big Ten Media Day — the local product is a rim defender and can at least give the Ducks a semblance of what Dante did in the defensive paint. Dante averaged 6.4 defensive rebounds in his final year in Oregon. No other player managed more than 3.5.

“He’s got by far the most blocks in practice,” Altman said. “He understands what we want to do…and we’ll need him on the floor for his rim protection.” 

But through three games, Bittle averaged 7.7 defensive rebounds, including eight in the opener against UC Riverside. Given, it’s lesser competition than what Oregon faced down the stretch in 2023, but the signs are promising.

The frontcourt group around Dante last year wasn’t at its most physical, either. A freshman Kwame Evans Jr. was still learning how to throw his weight around, while 6-foot-5 Jadrian Tracey and 6-foot-6 Mookie Cook (when healthy) weren’t going to dominate that space either.

Enter Brandon Angel.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pound senior spent four years at Stanford, where he made a habit of bullying the Ducks inside. In his first game in Eugene, he continued: five total rebounds and 17 points (five for five from inside the arc) were key to Oregon’s win. He also went to the line for seven shots — and made all seven.

“Coach emphasized during one of the first timeouts (against Riverside) that we’ve got to cut better off the ball — not just stand on the perimeter,” Angel said postgame. “And the lanes were open when you cut and post up strong.”

Angel pointed out that the Ducks led the points in the paint margin that night, 48-22.

“So you take what the defense gives you,” he finished. “I think we all knew we had the advantage with our size in the paint.” Angel is averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 total rebounds per game through the first three games.

Evans Jr., the sophomore forward, is also ready to join that “bigger and stronger” conversation. He led the team in points on opening night (23) on 8-15 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. He’s not going to dominate the paint the way Dante did, but he showed more than flashes of a player who can draw attention and handle it well.

“He’s working harder,” Altman said after the Riverside game. “He’s bringing more effort to practice. When he plays hard, he’s really counting — sometimes he has a tendency to coast, and we’ve got to get him out of that mode. When he’s active on those toes and going hard, he’s pretty good.”

The surrounding cast contains Tracey — a leader back for a final year — and finally-healthy Mookie Cook. Cook’s pressing ability was what shone on opening night against the Highlanders, especially when the Ducks stepped up the court near the end of halves.

Altman is also insistent that transfer forward Supreme Cook’s debut will help in this department. The journeyman averaged 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in his lone year at Georgetown University, but hasn’t yet made his debut in Eugene. In the meantime, though, the Ducks will continue to prove that they can win without their dominant center.

Maybe, someday, they won’t miss Dante.

It’s a momentous year for college football. It’s also a confusing one for fans. The new playoff structure is unprecedented, and so The Daily Emerald is here to take you through the new postseason ahead of what seems increasingly like the first Oregon appearance since 2014. Here are five things to know about the new College Football Playoff.

1. This is the first year of the expanded bracket

The former College Football Playoff, which existed from 2014-2023, was a four-team bracket that regularly included only conference champions or excluded a power conference entirely. Oregon qualified once, in the 2014 edition, where it eventually lost in the championship. In 2023, the Playoff announced its expansion to 12 teams, with guaranteed slots for the five highest-ranked conference champions and at-large bids for the next highest ranked schools. 

2. There’s no limit on teams per conference

In the expanded edition of the Playoff, berths outside of the five conference champions are simply allocated to the next highest ranked teams. This means that there’s no cap on how many teams can make the bracket from one conference. As of the latest ranking, four Big Ten and three SEC schools would qualify for the postseason. 

It’s a huge advantage for teams lower-ranked in these conferences: While Big 12 or ACC schools can barely afford one loss to secure an at-large (non-bye) bid, conference strength and quality losses could see an SEC school qualify with three losses.

3. The four highest-ranked conference champions get a bye

While five conference champions receive an automatic bid into the Playoff, the four highest-ranked champs will also receive a first-round bye. Whilst seeds No. 5 through 12 are playing first-round games on campus, the four best seeds will wait in the second round — benefiting from a crucial rest week.

Notably, this does not mean that the four byes will go to the four power conferences — the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC. If (for example) potential Mountain West champion Boise State ends the year higher ranked than the Big 12 champion, the Broncos would likely receive the first-round bye and the Big 12 representative would receive the No. 12 seed, with a first-round road game at No. 5. It’s a huge tradeoff, and one to keep an eye on.

4. For the first time, games will be played on campus

Previously, Playoff games were hosted at a rotating set of New Year’s Six bowl games — the Orange, Sugar, Peach, Fiesta, Cotton and Rose Bowls. The National Championship was hosted at a neutral site, like last year, when it was played at Houston’s NRG Stadium. This year, Atlanta will play host to the season’s final game. 

In 2024, first-round games will be hosted on campus for the first time in the College Football Playoff era. Seeds No. 5 through 8 will host games against seeds No. 9 through 12 on Dec. 20 and 21, 2024. Not only will the home teams get a sizable advantage, the atmosphere will be unlike anything fans have seen in the postseason to date.

5. The final set of rankings will be announced on Sun., Dec. 8.

While the Playoff committee will continue to release rankings on Tuesday evenings weekly, the one that really matters — the final set — will be released on Sun., Dec. 8, following conference championships. This is when the four byes will be allocated and home games decided. Following the conference championship weekend and the final poll, teams will get a minimum of 12 days off between conference championship game and the first round.

Have more questions? Follow the Emerald’s coverage of Oregon football and the College Football Playoff on social media, @DailyEmerald, and online at dailyemerald.com/category/sports.

Let’s talk more about expansion — megaconferences, more specifically.

The jumping-off point will be a tiebreaker based around points scored in single-game wins that arose in the Big Ten. That’s the genesis point, and I’m going to explain it, but the questions around it are much deeper and matter beyond this year.

The tiebreaker is another byproduct of conference expansion — one of the most significant pieces of innovation in modern college football. The megaconferences, even if they’re not truly “super leagues,” are creating some serious questions about their legitimacy that we thought would be handled with the expansion of the College Football Playoff. 

Some teams in power conferences won’t play a ranked team, while others could miss out on championships on the points scored tiebreaker. It may all end up on the line when playoff berths come to bear. Were divisions perfect? No. But is this?

Heading into Week 10 of the season, Oregon was undefeated with one-score wins over then-ranked No. 2 Ohio State and then-unranked Boise State in addition to a blowout of then-ranked No. 20 Illinois. But because of the tiebreaker system in the 18-team Big Ten, Oregon could’ve missed out on a berth in the conference championship game if Indiana (who had no games against teams with a single AP poll vote as of Week 10) and Penn State won out and beat Ohio State by more than the one point the Ducks did.

In that scenario an undefeated Ducks squad likely would’ve headed into the playoff with the No. 5 seed, but missed out on the opportunity to clinch a bye and instead play the No. 12 seed in Eugene.

There’s potential benefits in that situation, too — skipping a week of games and playing a lower seed in the first round instead — but the issue is a stronger undefeated team once again missing out on the top-4 slots.

Is the answer in adding more slots for power conferences? There’s been rumors around the idea of adding protection for Big Ten and SEC schools, but that still doesn’t solve the actual issue, and it kills the idea of getting in on merit. 

There’s not enough time nor the desire from teams trying to preserve players for the best solution: a four-team in-conference mini tournament at the end of the year. 

We’re left with this:

In this perfect storm, an unexpectedly good team (Indiana) and two relative powerhouses (Oregon and Penn State) could’ve all finished undefeated. That’s unheard of in a power conference — but possible in one with 18 teams. 

In that scenario, whether in this year or another, you’ve got to review the tiebreaker rules, which the conference revised in August 2024: These teams cannot and should not be judged on one game, much less a win. 

There can be a ranked-wins tiebreaker, or a quality-of-opponent tiebreaker that emphasizes scheduling strong opponents and rewards a gauntlet season overcome rather than a cakewalk annihilated. What should not happen is a single score in a vacuum deciding a playoff berth.

As fans continue to discover how this new system works, it’ll likely be a scenario that they have to encounter again. 

It didn’t count this time, but what it will do is emphasize running up the score over resting starters, punching the ball in instead of kneeling it out, and risking it all in order to avoid punishment at season’s end.

Stay tuned.

The post ‘On Innovation’ Part VII: Big problems with big conferences appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Week 10 in the Big Ten featured a top-5 matchup, two undefeated teams defending their status and the always-welcome ranked-versus-unranked upset. The Ducks are still No. 1. How did the picture shift around them?

No. 4 Ohio State takes down No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley in 20-13 victory 

Ryan Day and the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 B1G) rolled into State College looking for a first top-25 win of the season. Despite a slower offensive day — Will Howard put up just 182 yards through the air while Quinshon Judkins found 95 on the ground — the Ohio State defense stood strong to deny the Nittany Lions four straight times on the goal line with 5:13 left.

Penn State (7-1, 4-1 B1G) suffered its first loss of the season against its second ranked opponent. Regular starting quarterback Drew Allar shared snaps with backup Beau Pribula, but couldn’t punch it in when it counted.

Ohio State travels to Purdue next week, while the Nittany Lions host Washington.

No. 13 Indiana hangs 40 on Michigan State in 47-10 beatdown

The undefeated (9-0, 6-0 B1G) Hoosiers welcomed previously injured quarterback Kurtis Rourke back in style with a roaring comeback win in East Lansing. The Spartans (4-5, 2-4 B1G) put up the game’s first 10 points and held the away group scoreless in the first quarter but gave up six touchdowns, including four from Rourke (19/29, 263 yds). Hoosiers cornerback Amare Ferrell picked off Oregon State transfer Aidan Chiles twice to seal the Spartans’ fate.

Michigan State is on bye before traveling to face Illinois, while Indiana will look to remain undefeated against Michigan next weekend.

UCLA grabs 27-20 away win against Nebraska

The Bruins (3-5, 2-4 B1G) held on for victory amidst a furious Cornhusker comeback attempt in Lincoln. UCLA led 27-7 with 8:21 left in the third quarter, but the Huskers put up 13-straight points to nearly sneak victory. Star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola left with an injury, though, and backup Heinrich Haarberg threw an interception with 29 seconds left to end the game amidst refereeing controversy.

UCLA faces Iowa at home next Friday, while Nebraska will sit idle.

Iowa eviscerates Wisconsin 42-10 in Kinnick Stadium

Iowa (6-3, 4-2 B1G) scored 28-straight points in the second and third quarters in a stellar offensive performance against the Badgers. The ground game dominated the day: Kaleb Johnson put up 135 yards and three touchdowns amongst 329 team rushing yards. Hawkeye quarterback Brendan Sullivan was just 7-10 for 93 yards and a touchdown.

The Hawkeyes face UCLA next Friday, while the Badgers (5-4, 3-3 B1G) are idle.

Washington sneaks past USC in 26-21 home win

The Huskies (5-4, 3-3 B1G) made a goal-line stand to deny Miller Moss and the Trojans (4-5, 2-5 B1G) a last-second touchdown in a battle of Big Ten newcomers. Washington put up just six points after the halftime interval, but first-half domination was enough to earn Jedd Fisch victory in Seattle.

Washington travels to face Penn State next, while USC is idle.

Minnesota upsets No. 24 Illinois 25-17 in Fighting Illini’s second-straight loss

One week removed from a blowout loss in Eugene, the Fighting Illini (6-3, 3-3 B1G) dropped a second-straight conference matchup, this time to unranked Minnesota. The Golden Gophers (6-3, 4-2 B1G) held their opponents scoreless in the final nine minutes and added nine points of their own in order to surge ahead. 

Running back Darius Taylor had 131 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and the Golden Gophers defense forced a fumble from quarterback Luke Altmyer with 29 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Minnesota advanced to 6th overall in-conference, while the Illini lost their top-25 status following the defeat. The Golden Gophers travel to Rutgers next weekend, while the Illini will take their bye week.

Northwestern sneaks past Purdue 26-20 in overtime

The Wildcats (4-4, 2-4 B1G) prevailed in a battle of Big Ten basement dwellers. Running back Joseph Himon II had just six carries, but picked up 78 yards (including a 51-yard touchdown run) and grabbed the winning score in overtime. Purdue (1-7, 0-5 B1G) has not won since its opener and gave up 424 yards of offense on Saturday, where it ranks 129th in the nation. The Boilermakers never led in the game.

Purdue hosts Ohio State next week, while the Wildcats are off ahead of a matchup with the Buckeyes at Wrigley Field on Nov. 16.

Dana Altman had to sleep on it. 

He didn’t yet know his opening-day lineup, the 35th-year head coach said at Oregon’s 2024 Media Day. The Ducks lost their two most prolific starters, guard Jermaine Couisnard and center N’Faly Dante, to the NBA. Their only two returning starters were rising sophomores.

By the second Oregon (1-0) possession, Altman was on the court gesturing for TJ Bamba and Brandon Angel to switch spots on an inbound play. The two dashed across the court, and Bamba eventually drained a corner three.

The individual power was immediately obvious. Second-year guard Jackson Shelstad drove to the lane for a nifty reverse layup — University of California-Riverside (0-1) had no answer. Bamba shook off a defender and laid down a nothing-but-net 3-pointer — easy money.

For a team who preached how connected it is off the court, though, the growing pains were noticeable. There were flashes — Shelstad tossed it up for Nate Bittle to slam home in the first half and drew a roar from Matthew Knight Arena — but missed connections were just as prevalent early in the contest.

Three of the Ducks’ notable transfers debuted: Angel, the forward, and guards Bamba and Ra’Heim Moss combined for 33 points. Angel’s physicality, which punished Oregon in the senior’s four years at Pac-12 rival Stanford, was evident on Monday night. Bamba and Moss found a connection with Bittle on the pick-and-roll, and they began to look like Ducks.

“I thought Brandon definitely made better decisions than TJ,” Altman said afterwards. “But both of those guys, with their experience, can make big jumps.”

It started to click midway through the first half. Oregon went through a stretch shooting 10-for-12 from the field where five players had points. The assists began to flow, too: by the end of the first half, the Ducks led that category 9-4. With one minute left in the half, Bittle, Moss and Angel barely touched the ball as it flew through their hands and into the basket. That’s the fast-paced ball that Altman wants to get back to.

“I think that we can play even faster,” Shelstad said. “We have a lot of athleticism on this team. Everybody can get out and run, and me and Keyshawn (Barthelemy) are pretty fast with the ball. We want to push it.”

Evans, the sophomore forward who will be the focus of Oregon’s non-Bittle low-block offense, had a strong night. After averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his first season in Eugene, a bulked-up Evans posted a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds.

“He’s working harder (than last year),” Altman said. “He’s bringing more effort to practice, and when he plays hard he really counts. He has a tendency to coast — we talked about it.”

Seven players had at least three rebounds, including Bittle (11 to complete a double-double), as the Ducks dominated the boards 45-29. Altman and many of the players talked during Media Day about how the Ducks struggled to rebound in a closed-doors exhibition against Nevada, but the group was far more satisfied with Monday night’s numbers.

“A plus-16 (rebounding margin) obviously is really good,” Altman said. “We have to be, especially when we’re starting a big lineup. Second chance points — (we had) 14 and that’s basically the difference in the game.”

Angel mentioned how clear Altman has been in the Ducks’ emphasis on the press.

“Coach has shown us,” he said, “when Oregon wins the rebounding margin, how many more games we win…Coach is pretty clear, and if you’re not executing the way he wants you, he’ll definitely let you know about it.”

The building emptied as “Shout” played for the first time this season. There would be no opening-day worries. On Monday night, the Ducks’ so-so was good enough, and their best won’t be needed for a while. 

“That’s what first games are for,” Altman said. “It’s November 4th, and we’ve got to be better on the 6th, 7th and 8th.”

They’ll sleep on it.

Oregon faces Montana next at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday night. Tip is set for 7:00 PM.

Oregon fans spent the first half of the 2024 season telling Big Ten foes not to judge Autzen Stadium by its size. Now, it’s their turn. Can you underestimate one of the most challenging away trips in a sport?

The Ducks benefit this year from a relatively benign away schedule. Saturday in Los Angeles. A Friday night in West Lafayette. And one more Saturday in Ann Arbor. They likely won’t face a ranked opponent on its home field this year, and yet this weekend’s matchup with Michigan is potentially the most worrying game left on the Ducks’ schedule. It is a challenge that they’ll savor.

Dan Lanning made that very clear after last Saturday’s victory over Illinois.

“That’s what you sign up for when you’re in the Big Ten,” Lanning said. “But traveling there, right? You have the ability to handle travel and go play in a tough environment. It’s going to be a fun challenge for our team.”

The Big House is no joke. Nearly double Autzen’s capacity, it’s an offense-affecting, quarterback-baffling, envy-of-all mire. Oregon can’t afford to get lost.

Part of that will be early explosive plays. If, like the Ducks did in Week 8, the offense can find itself the offensive eruption that won it the last two games, it’ll be a success.

“[Explosive plays are] the biggest indicator of wins in college football, outside of takeaways, right?” Dan Lanning posited in his postgame press conference last weekend. 

The Ducks found those explosives against Purdue in Week 7, and quieted a rowdy 57,463 Boilermakers. It was a 49-yard pass that found a streaking Evan Stewart on first-and-10. Two drives later, it was second-string tight end Kenyon Sadiq for 39 yards on second-and-1. Both drives led to first-half touchdowns.

For the Wolverines, the home-field advantage is obvious. Michigan is 4-1 at home this year with a +24 point differential — its one loss came in Week 2 to a then-No. 3 ranked Texas Longhorns squad. It’s 0-2 on the road, with a -24 differential. What is regularly one of the most renowned defenses in the country benefits too: On the road, they allow 150.5 rushing yards per game. In Ann Arbor, they give up just 84.8.

It’s obvious why. The Big House holds 107,601 fans. When the No. 1 team in the country comes to town, every one of those seats will be full. For a team that needs every possible advantage to overcome the indelible momentum that the Ducks carry cross-country, the crowd could be the largest.

It hasn’t been an issue for Oregon this year. For its first year in the Big Ten, it’s been an easier go-around. There’s no trip to Happy Valley, nor one to the Shoe in Columbus. The Huskies come to Eugene in the final week of the regular season. Michigan and a Week 12 trip to Camp Randall and Wisconsin are the only true away matchups that remain.

“We were working on the silent snap (in practice),” offensive lineman Nishad Strother said on Tuesday, “but we’ll see how it goes. We thought that Utah was going to be super loud last year as well, so maybe we can just go out there and quiet the crowd early.”

When the Ducks walk into the largest stadium in North America on Saturday afternoon, it’ll be with an express goal: to keep it quiet. It’ll be good practice for a potential postseason run that could include several neutral-site games far from Eugene. Just the Rose and Fiesta Bowls are west of the Rocky Mountains; Each of the remaining second, third and fourth-round games, plus a potential Big Ten Championship game will mean a cross-country trip.

The opportunity isn’t what it seemed in Week 1. Michigan is unranked, teetering above .500 and not any inch the force it was in last year’s undefeated season. But The Big House is The Big House. Michigan is Michigan — physical, but offensively inefficient. Oregon just has to be Oregon.

I remember April 18, 2021. It’s right in the middle of the European soccer season, a couple months after the winter transfer window closes and a month or so before the season ends.

It’s the day the European Super League was announced.

The concept — to isolate the best few teams in a league that would ensure their profits and big-time matchups — goes against everything in the history of the sport. The reckoning that followed was individual and unique in the absolute backlash that it drew. Legendary figures across the sport condemned it. The UK’s government put out a statement speaking out against it.

When I read the briefing for “Project Rudy,” a new proposal intended to “revitalize” college football by creating a new super-conference intended to boost views and profits for the biggest teams, I got chills. I texted my friend: “I see the Super League all over again.” I started to pick it apart.

The reins of the push for innovation across college football are in the hands of many. It lies with schools, commissioners and players. It’s those people who decide where the sport goes, but it’s the fans who can push back.

The key issue from the college version of the Super League — the part that people behind plans like these can’t seem to understand — is that not every game has to be a barnburner. If you played the Civil War every week, it wouldn’t matter as much. Sixty thousand people still showed up at Autzen Stadium for a game against Michigan State where the line at kickoff was 23.5 points in the Ducks’ favor. People don’t show up just for the game. They come to the stadium to be part of a community; one that matters more than the game does.

The question lies in whether American fans will show up in the way that the European groups did.

The retaliation to the European Super League was swift and absolute. Fans protested outside stadiums. Social media was taken over by outright rejection of the prospect.

There’s an enduring image from those protests. Former Chelsea FC goalkeeper Petr Čech, now in a front office role with the club, entered the masses outside Stamford Bridge (Chelsea’s stadium). Behind him are signs reading “Shame on you Chelsea,” and “Football belongs to us, not you.” 

There’s not one ounce of support — except there’s an immeasurable amount of it, and those thousands showed up to defend their team, and their sport. Less than nine hours later, the club released a statement announcing that it would withdraw from the Super League. The other teams soon followed.

Will the same happen in America? I don’t know.

It’s important to recognize that the attitude towards sport is completely different between the two continents. In England, there’s a for-the-sport culture that contradicts everything about television contracts in America. Even with the 21st-century work that has been done to eradicate it (in the UK in particular), it still exists. The FA Cup is still played every year, like it has been for over 150 years, and most professional, semi-professional and amateur teams in the nation are invited. 

No one over here could imagine the Yankees coming to Eugene to play the Emeralds in a competitive game. No one over here seems to think of the non-commercial implications of a movement like this, which seems to think only of the best and never of the rest. No one over here thinks of the sport.

I talked to College GameDay host Rece Davis about “Project Rudy” when the show visited two weeks ago. He brought up some good points, while admitting that he didn’t have the full picture.

“That’s what the fans want, and truth be told,” Davis told me, “it’s what the players want. They’d much rather Oregon play Ohio State than an FCS team. I know it’s a little bit different, but I think they’d rather play a schedule full of those, instead of some of the quote-unquote lesser games.”

But especially in a season such as this one, which Chuck Culpepper described for the Washington Post a couple of weeks ago as “a season loaded with faith, hope and parity,” it should be more obvious than ever that the stories that matter aren’t just the battles of giants. Let’s remember how tenuous the rope the Ducks walked against the University of Idaho and Boise State was two weeks in. 

As a storyteller, I’ll never forget watching Oregon vs Ohio State. There’s a property that makes those top-5, top-whatever games special — a level of quality that you just don’t get, even among the chaos of unranked-versus-ranked teams. 

I’ll also never forget the incredible upset that Vanderbilt University pulled off against the University of Alabama earlier this year. That was as special as any game this season. It wouldn’t have been possible in an over-innovated world where this “Super League” exists.

Carli Feist has been a Ducks fan “forever.” She grew up watching quarterback Kellen Clemens because they’re both from Burns, Oregon. After No. 3 Oregon’s win over No. 2 Ohio State, she said, “I’ve never felt anything like this. It was one of a kind.”

That’s the feeling that Oregon fans have been waiting for under Dan Lanning. Twice, last year, they were on the other end of heartbreaking, last-second losses. Now, Lanning and the Ducks — and a ecstatic Autzen Stadium crowd — have their signature moment. They’ve been waiting for this circus to spin their way. It happened in front of the world.

The day wasn’t just about the game. It was a 48-hour celebration of football in a place few college football fans can reliably point out on a map. The group who could, though, was ESPN College GameDay.

There was little doubt that the college football world’s marquee pregame show would travel to Eugene last week. Oregon against Ohio State — no matter the ranking — was a circled-in-pen date on the calendar. It didn’t matter that Oct. 12 was potentially the most game-packed Saturday of the year. Oregon had captured the eyes of the nation.

“I think it’s a celebration of the culture of college football, and there’s very little in our entire society and culture that’s as unifying as sports in general,” GameDay anchor Rece Davis said on Friday. “I think college football specifically, it’s a short period of time that students are on campus, and to have sort of a communal experience, a unified goal, big game, exciting event, and to have a forum to celebrate that is really important.”

When Ducks fans began to pack Memorial Quad more than 12 hours before the show was scheduled to go live, an emotional chain of events were set in motion. Oregon student Wilder Lewis was on campus for Oregon’s last GameDay appearance, in 2022. Was this better?

“For UCLA (in 2022),” he said early on Friday morning, “it was crazy…but the stakes were just not as big. I felt like everybody at Oregon felt as if we were going to win regardless. Coming into this game, there’s a lot more uncertainty. It’s just a whole ‘nother level to this one.”

It was a moment.

The atmosphere was so great that it drew more than Ducks and Buckeyes fans to the city. Springfield resident Craig Murphy is a Washington State alumnus who is part of one of GameDay’s great traditions. He told the story of “Ol’ Crimson,” a Cougar flag that makes its way across the nation to the set every week. It started at the show in Austin in 2003, when the Texas Longhorns hosted Kansas State.

“And several of us were like, ‘There’s a Cougar flag on GameDay in Texas,’” Murphy said, “and it just kind of started from there. People started talking to each other and got on a message board, and some people said, ‘Hey, I’m in that area. I can do it this week.’ And then as the word spread, more and more people heard about it, more and more people got involved.”

It was Murphy who brought the flag to the Quad on Saturday morning. Was he planning on watching the game?

“Probably not,” he said, “I think it’s on the same time as Wazzu.” He was there for the moment.

Those who stuck around were treated to an instant classic. Every moment — two Dillon Gabriel bombs to his flying receivers, an onside kick which bounced off the Buckeye returner and Ohio State quarterback Will Howard’s slide a moment too late to save the last second of clock — felt like a moment promised to Ducks fans when Lanning took over in 2021. They’ve been on the other end often throughout his tenure. Finally, it feels like he has a signature win.

Lanning joined GameDay ahead of the game on Saturday alongside his mentor: legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. A fist bump from the man — whose seven national titles are the most in history — felt like a good omen.

When Lanning eventually left the field on Saturday night, he’d done a whole lot more than fist bump. He’d made his best effort to chest-bump and bear-hug his way to the media room outside Autzen Stadium. He stopped on the way to offer an emotional interview to NBC reporter Kathryn Tappen.

“I’m so proud of our players, I’m so proud of our crowd,” Lanning said. “You talk about big moments…this is why you come to Oregon.”

The crowd was the story as much as it was the Ducks. A bevy of false start penalties against the Buckeyes’ offense, including three on one drive that eventually forced a punt, shook the visitors. Every crowd moment seemed like a turning point. Sixty thousand voices sounded like something far-greater than the six-figure crowds other schools — including Michigan, Oregon’s Week 10 opponent — routinely pack in.

What’s going to be most relevant for everyone who made their way into Autzen Stadium last weekend, though, is the memory. Media personality Josh Pate mentioned after the game that, “You only get one of those in a lifetime.” Everything, he suggested, from the execution to the ending to the field rush fell into line as if ordained by the football gods for the night of Saturday, Oct. 12. He wasn’t wrong.

Saturday night was that perfect moment. Eugene made it so.

GameDay in Eugene just got even bigger. ESPN College GameDay, which is set to return to the University of Oregon campus for the first time since 2022, announced on Thursday that its “celebrity guest picker” will be Duck alumna Kaitlin Olson.

The “guest picker” appears on the show with ESPN’s regular crew, which includes anchor Rece Davis alongside analysts Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit. During the last hour, the show’s cast picks their winners for each marquee game, and the guest picker participates.

Olson (Oregon ‘97) is most famous for her role in the long-running TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” She’s been a vocal Ducks fan — but her selection could also be related to her new ABC show “High Potential.”  

“GameDay” is set to broadcast live from Memorial Quad in Eugene on Saturday morning. Fans can tune in on ESPN, or attend early in-person.

Primetime.

It’s an interesting concept. Let’s take away all of the distractions, and focus everyone’s attention on one place. It is the idea that this one game is the most important — so important, in fact, that everyone needs to watch it.

It’s no secret that the No. 3 Oregon Ducks live on primetime television. All of their next three games are scheduled to stand alone: Friday night matchups against Michigan State and Purdue bookend what is expected to be one of college football’s most-watched games of the year at Autzen Stadium against No. 2 Ohio State. 

When you’re standing inside the courtyard of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, where the Ducks practice, the world falls away. That’s where linebacker Jeffrey Bassa is talking to media.

“We’re not focused too much on the outside noise,” Bassa said ahead of Oregon’s game against Michigan State. “I think guys are just dialed in, and wherever they line up the ball — on Friday night, or Saturday night or Saturday mid-day — we’re going to be ready to roll.”

You can barely see the roof of Autzen Stadium. The busy next door arterial is drowned out by the running fountains and buzz in the air. Everyone is surrounded by glass; all you can see is yourself.

“I hate to say it, but FEBU,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said after Oregon’s win over Boise State last month. Brought to the table by Lanning last year, FEBU stands for “Forget Everybody But Us.”

That’s exactly how Oregon wants to run this month.

“I think the preparation always goes down to ‘We want to get the preparation done,’” Bassa continued, “but ‘the hay is never in the barn,’ as Coach Lanning always likes to say,” Gabriel said. “We’re always going to prep up until the game, but the guys are majorly focused, not too focused on the spotlight, not too focused on the rankings or whatnot, whatever awards are going on outside right now. I think that our mindset is in the right space right now.”

Inside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, they’re tuning out all of the noise. Outside, they’re turning it up.

Oregon will debut at least two uniforms in those games, including an all-yellow “Stomp out Cancer” outfit designed in part by the Lanning family used for Michigan State’s arrival and the blackout “Fly Era” set for the Buckeyes’ visit. It’s just part of the “Generation O” closet that equipment manager Kenny Farr and the Ducks designed for their Big Ten entrance.

National expectation is building, too. ESPN’s national show “College Gameday” will come to town on October 12. “Gameday,” which the Ducks last appeared on in Week 7 last year against Washington, travels to one college campus each week in order to host a televised preview show. Its target is usually the biggest game of the week.

When it comes to Eugene, the “pit” on the lawn outside Lillis will be packed on gameday at 3:00 a.m., with students hoisting signs.  It’s an event that Oregon hasn’t hosted since 2022, when UCLA came to town in Week 8.

Do you still remember the actual game?

Oregon is trying to. A short week of practice began on September 29, after the flight back from Los Angeles on Saturday night. Fresh off the first interception of his college career, linebacker Bryce Boettcher turned straight to the practice field.

“It’s just our same prep,” Boettcher said in the middle of that week. “We’re prepping this week the same as we did Week 1, the same as we did in fall camp. Nothing really changes — obviously our gameplan changes a little bit depending on the team, but for the most part it’s all the same.”

On gameday, the Ducks will walk from the Hatfield-Dowlin courtyard into the west tunnel at Autzen Stadium. A camera will follow them — it always does. They’ll wait, just a little longer, while the tension builds — they always do. Finally, they’ll focus on this game.

They’ve tried to put it out of their minds for the last five weeks of the season.

“They’ve done a really good job of not listening to you guys,” Lanning told media after Oregon’s win over Michigan State. “But finally, you guys can talk about it. We’re finally there. We’re going to play them now.”

As they wait in the tunnel, while the Duck dances around the “O” and announcer Don Essig reminds the crowd that “It never rains in Autzen Stadium,” Lanning will hope that his group isn’t overwhelmed.

“We talk about play[ing] the game, not the occasion,” Lanning said. “That’s going to be part of it for us. The best thing we can do as a football team is go play a great game.”

That’s what it’s been about this year. Play the game. Celebrate the win. Turn your attention. Repeat.

“How long do you savor this win?” a media member asked Lanning after Oregon’s win over Michigan State.

“Right around until midnight,” he answered.