Oregon’s Week 5 bye doesn’t mean a quiet Saturday for Ducks fans. With the No.
15 Ducks off before their Oct. 10 meeting with the No. 23 UCLA Bruins at Autzen Stadium, there are a handful of games that could shape both the rankings and Oregon’s path through the Big Ten.
The biggest one on the board is No. 5 Ohio State at No.
14 Iowa. ESPN College GameDay will be there, and kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
PT on CBS at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. For Oregon, there’s plenty riding on this one.
The Ducks are scheduled to play Ohio State on Nov. 7, and both teams enter the weekend ranked ahead of Oregon in the AP Poll.
That makes the outcome worth watching twice over. An Iowa loss would open the door for Oregon to climb in the rankings.
If Ohio State falls, the Buckeyes would already have two losses, giving Oregon a chance to potentially wreck their College Football Playoff hopes in November. Iowa matters, too, because the Hawkeyes have quietly worked themselves into the Big Ten conversation and could end up affecting Oregon’s CFP and Big Ten Championship picture.
If that one feels like the heavyweight bout, Nebraska vs. Maryland is the kind of game Ducks fans should track for the schedule alone.
Nebraska is 4-0, Maryland is 2-2, and the Cornhuskers are heavily favored with a 92.7 percent win probability, according to the ESPN matchup predictor. The game kicks off at 1:00 p.m.
PT on FS1 from Memorial Stadium.
The reason it matters in Eugene is simple: Nebraska is next on Oregon’s schedule after UCLA. The Cornhuskers will come to Autzen Stadium on Oct. 17, after another matchup with No.
6 Indiana on Oct. 10.
Oregon hasn’t faced Nebraska since joining the Big Ten in 2024, and the programs have met eight times overall, with six of those games coming before the 21st century and the last one in 2017.
There’s also a little extra intrigue because Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola transferred from Nebraska in the offseason. That move has had a ripple effect on the Cornhuskers’ offense this season, with Anthony Colandrea taking over as the starter.
The other game with real implications for Oregon’s view of the national picture is No. 7 Alabama at No.
16 Mississippi State. That one kicks at 9 a.m.
PT on ABC from Davis Wade Stadium in Mississippi. The series has long belonged to Alabama, which owns an 88-17-3 edge, and Mississippi State hasn’t beaten the Crimson Tide since 2007.
The teams haven’t played since 2023.
Still, this is not a routine SEC matchup for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State comes in ranked higher than it has in a game against Alabama since 2017, and an upset would send a shock through the sport. From Oregon’s standpoint, either result would matter: Alabama could drop, or the Ducks could create more separation from a Bulldogs team that sits just one spot behind them.
One more game to keep on the radar is Washington against No. 18 USC, with Oregon’s previous opponent facing the Ducks’ rival in the Pacific Northwest.
That game is set for 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
There are also a few games tied to former Ducks coordinators. Will Stein’s No.
24 Kentucky Wildcats play South Carolina and quarterback LaNorris Sellers, with kickoff at 1:15 p.m. PT on SEC ESPN Network.
Tosh Lupoi’s California Golden Bears visit UNLV at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBSSN.
Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils host Baylor at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Delivered The Kind Of Road Win Fans Needed
Ohio State went into Kinnick Stadium and delivered the sort of response win its fans had been waiting for, beating Iowa 31-14 and handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season. The Buckeyes controlled the game on both sides of the ball, piling up 484 total yards while keeping Iowa to 238 and a paltry 39 rushing yards, which made this feel less like a tense road test and more like a statement about the gap between the two teams.
Jeremiah Smith was at the center of it, turning the trip into one of those performances that travels well beyond the box score. He finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, giving Ohio State a dynamic edge whenever it needed one and helping offset a couple of turnovers forced by the defense. For a team that needed a clean, convincing road result, this was exactly the kind of night it was looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Just Put Ohio State Fans On Notice Again
Jeremiah Smith kept the Buckeyes moving in Iowa City, turning a road test against the Hawkeyes into another showcase for Ohio States passing game. The freshman wideout tied the Ohio State touchdown record while finishing with 11 catches for 206 yards and two scores, a performance that helped push the Buckeyes to a 4-1 start and add another layer to what has already become a must-watch season in Columbus.
Smiths latest breakout only raises the stakes for what comes next, because Ohio State now heads back home to face Maryland with its young star drawing even more attention. For a team that has spent the early part of the season trying to establish its identity, his ability to create production anywhere on the field has become one of the biggest reasons the Buckeyes keep looking like a contender. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Earned The Big Ten Spot Fans Wanted Most
Week 5 brought a clearer picture of the Big Ten race, and Ohio State came out of it looking like the conference team fans expected to see at the top. The Buckeyes handled Iowa in a game that carried more weight than a typical early-season road test, adding a quality win to a rsum that is starting to separate from the pack as the league standings and the national picture begin to take shape.
The rankings around them still have plenty of movement left, with Indiana continuing to push forward, Oregon and UCLA drawing attention for different reasons, and Michigan still trying to sort out its own path. But Ohio States recent momentum is the kind that can hold up as October approaches, especially if the Buckeyes keep matching style points with results in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]