The first betting line for Oregon’s Oct. 17 meeting with Nebraska is already lopsided.
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Ducks as a 21.5-point favorite when the Cornhuskers visit Autzen Stadium, with the over/under sitting at 51.5 points. It’s a Big Ten matchup that also comes with a familiar face attached to it: Dylan Raiola. The former Nebraska quarterback transferred to Oregon this offseason, and if he’s on the field, it will be his first crack at his old team since making the move.
Oregon’s game against Nebraska comes in the middle of a tough conference stretch, with USC on Sept. 26 and UCLA on Oct. 10 setting the stage before the Ducks host the Cornhuskers. It will also be Oregon’s third Big Ten game of the 2026 season.
Raiola’s final year at Nebraska ended early after he broke his right fibula in the Cornhuskers’ 21-17 loss to USC on Nov. 1, 2025.
Nebraska finished that season 7-6 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play. Across two seasons as the starter, Raiola passed for 4,819 yards, 31 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Now he’s set to develop behind starting quarterback Dante Moore, with a chance to grow into Oregon’s starter in 2027 if he stays with the program.
Nebraska will arrive in Eugene after a non-conference run that includes home games against Ohio on Sept. 5, Bowling Green on Sept. 12 and North Dakota on Sept.
- The Cornhuskers then open Big Ten play at Michigan State on Sept. 26, face Maryland in Lincoln on Oct. 3 and host Indiana on Oct. 10 before heading west.
Anthony Colandrea, a transfer from UNLV, is Nebraska’s new starting quarterback. In two seasons at Virginia and one at UNLV, he has thrown for 7,452 yards, 49 touchdowns and 29 interceptions while completing 63.8 percent of his passes.
The series has gone Nebraska’s way more often than not. The Cornhuskers lead the all-time matchup 6-2, and the most recent meeting came in 2017 in Eugene, when Oregon won 42-35.
Matt Rhule is entering his fourth season as Nebraska’s coach. He’s 19-19 overall and 10-17 in Big Ten play, and he has yet to pick up a top-25 win at Nebraska. A statement upset over Oregon would go a long way for a program looking to change that conversation.
For Oregon, the matchup is another chance to keep rolling against its new league. Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, the Ducks have only lost once in conference play, that defeat coming against Indiana at Autzen Stadium last season. Indiana won that game 30-20 in Eugene, then beat Oregon again 56-22 in the CFP Semifinal at the Peach Bowl on the way to the national championship.
The Ducks have handled their Big Ten move better than some of their former Pac-12 peers, and the Nebraska game now stands as one more test - with the betting line already suggesting which side the market trusts most.
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