A wave of former Oregon Ducks made their mark in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season, with several transfers stepping into bigger roles and delivering right away for their new teams.
For some, the move out of Eugene was about finding more snaps. For others, it was about getting on the field behind a crowded Oregon depth chart. Either way, the early returns were strong in spots, and the list starts with a running back who looked far more comfortable in his new home than he ever got to show in Eugene.
Makhi Hughes wasted no time at Houston. After carrying the ball 17 times for 70 yards across his four-game stint at Oregon in 2025, he matched that workload in his Cougars debut and did far more with it, rushing 17 times for 98 yards and a touchdown while adding two catches in Houston’s 33-20 win over Oregon State.
Another former Duck who flashed immediately was safety Kingston Lopa, now at California after following Tosh Lupoi. In the Golden Bears’ opener against UCLA, Lopa picked off a pass and led the team with six tackles, even though California gave up 45 points in the loss.
Quarterback Luka Moga also turned in a productive debut for New Mexico. Moga, who was the standout of Oregon’s 2025 spring game, entered the season expected to back up Jack Layne, but Layne’s shoulder surgery changed the plan. Moga still did enough to guide the Lobos past Central Michigan, completing 13 of 17 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in a 38-7 victory.
On the West Coast, Jayden Limar handled the lead-back duties for Washington in the Apple Cup and came through in a 24-10 win over Washington State. The Huskies’ offensive line didn’t open much, but Limar still finished with 47 yards and a game-sealing touchdown on 12 carries.
Jay Harris had a quieter role for Kansas State, but he still logged a career-high six carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 71-3 rout of Nicholls State. His score came late in the third quarter, and he was behind two other backs in the rotation.
Collin Gill has already built a strong profile at Charlotte, and he kept that going with a huge volume game in a painful opener. The former Oregon redshirt, who later spent a season at Georgia, posted 11 tackles in Charlotte’s 43-41 triple-overtime loss to The Citadel. He had 35 tackles last season for the 49ers.
Justius Lowe made the most of his chances at San Diego State. After his role shrank at Oregon in 2025, Lowe led the Aztecs in receiving yards against Portland State, finishing with two catches for 56 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.
Houston got another impact player from Oregon in Ashton Porter, who joined Hughes with the Cougars. Porter recorded three tackles and a sack against Oregon State after totaling 1.5 sacks in three seasons with the Ducks.
And on Sunday, Blake Purchase made a strong first impression for Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Louisville 41-38, and Purchase finished with five tackles, half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss in his debut. He had 32 tackles and two sacks last season at Oregon, but was one of the players squeezed out of a starting spot when the Ducks’ defensive line returned.
Week 1 gave Oregon fans plenty of reminders that the transfer portal keeps sending talent elsewhere - and in several cases, those former Ducks wasted no time producing.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Gets An Oregon Twist For Its First Real Home Test
Dan Lanning is adjusting Oregons routine for Saturdays trip to Oklahoma State, sending the Ducks out a day earlier than usual so they can get a better handle on the early kickoff and the time change. Instead of the standard Friday departure, Oregon will leave after Thursdays normal practice, giving the team a little more runway before facing an 11 a.m. local start in Stillwater, which translates to 9 a.m. Pacific Time back home.
The move fits the larger challenge of a season built around national travel and repeated time zone shifts, something Oregon will keep dealing with as it moves through the schedule. For a program that has tried to be deliberate about how it handles the demands of coast-to-coast football, this is another small adjustment that could matter, even before the Ducks find out how well the early wakeup call really lands on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Got An Early Playoff Snub Fans Will Hate
Andy Staples week 1 College Football Playoff projection already gives Oregon fans a reason to grumble. In his early bracket, the Ducks are slotted behind USC even though the Trojans path to this point has not looked nearly as demanding on paper, a detail that will land especially hard in Eugene given how much stock gets placed in Oregons schedule strength and week-to-week rsum.
The projection also puts USC into the playoff field for the first time in school history, a seismic call in its own right, while Oregon is left on the outside looking in for now despite being ranked near the top of the pecking order. There is still plenty of season left for the Ducks to change the conversation, but with key players, early performances and upcoming games all feeding into these first impressions, this is exactly the kind of opening snapshot that can linger if Oregon does not answer quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Clears Up Oregons Drew Mestemaker Recruiting Buzz
Oregons quarterback room drew a little extra attention this week when Dan Lanning addressed the chatter around Oklahoma State transfer Drew Mestemaker. The Ducks knew Mestemaker was in the portal, and the interest was real enough for him to say Oregon was among the schools keeping tabs on him, but Lanning made clear he was not the one doing the direct recruiting before Mestemaker decided to follow his former coach to Stillwater.
Even so, the timing keeps the connection alive for Ducks fans, especially with Oregon and Oklahoma State set to meet Sept. 12. It is the kind of early-season wrinkle that adds a little edge to a nonconference game, even with Oregon entering as the favorite, and it leaves just enough room for the recruiting backdrop to linger when the teams finally take the field. [Read more 🡒]