Oregon walks into Saturday night’s matchup with Nebraska in a strange spot: still alive, but suddenly staring at the edge of national playoff contention after a brutal opening stretch and a 17-15 home loss to No. 12 UCLA.
The Ducks are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, and the road they’ve already traveled has been far tougher than it looked in August. Oregon has already handled No.
23 Boise State, fallen at No. 18 Oklahoma State, beaten No.
19 USC, and then dropped that tight one to UCLA. The common thread is clear enough - the schedule has kept throwing ranked-caliber opponents at them, and Nebraska may be next in line.
The Cornhuskers come to Autzen Stadium at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play, and while they’re still unranked, they don’t look like a soft landing. Nebraska’s only loss came Saturday in a 20-17 game against No.
5 Indiana, and if not for that result, the Huskers would be in the rankings themselves. That’s why this feels less like a breather and more like another test.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. PT on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon is a 7-point favorite. The game will air on FOX, with radio coverage on the Oregon Sports Network.
But the biggest question hovering over this week isn’t Nebraska’s record. It’s Oregon’s quarterback situation.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said his staff is preparing for all three possibilities: starter Dante Moore if he clears concussion protocol, backup Dylan Raiola, who started against UCLA, and Brock Thomas, who came in after Raiola struggled in the fourth quarter against the Bruins and could start if Moore is unavailable.
Nebraska’s own season has been a reminder that a team can lose a quarterback and keep rolling. The Huskers were expected to take a step back after losing two-year starter Dylan Raiola to the transfer portal, but they found a quick answer in senior transfer Anthony Colandrea, who arrived from UNLV and guided them to a 5-0 start, their best since going 7-0 in 2016. Those five wins came by an average of 29.4 points, and the defense has done its part too - Nebraska’s 18 sacks rank third in the conference.
Colandrea’s season has been efficient and productive: 64 percent completions, 1,406 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also added 296 rushing yards and three scores, which is what separates him from Raiola, who had minus 152 rushing yards in 22 starts at Nebraska.
The run game gives Nebraska another layer. Freshman Jamal Rule leads the way with 386 yards on 57 carries, a 6.8-yard average and five rushing touchdowns, though an ankle injury limited him to four carries against Michigan State. Junior Mekhi Nelson has handled 60 carries for 284 yards and four touchdowns.
Nebraska also brings a receiving threat Oregon will have to account for in junior transfer Dane Key? Wait - not that.
The source points to junior transfer from UCLA Gilmer, who leads the Cornhuskers with 32 catches, 418 receiving yards and six touchdowns. At 6-foot-2, he profiles as one of the toughest wideouts Oregon has seen this season, and he’s paired with 6-foot junior Jacory Barney Jr., who has 27 receptions for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side, the Cornhuskers have a playmaker in Jones, a junior who is tied for third on the team with 26 tackles, leads Nebraska with four passes defended, and has one interception. He’s also added two sacks and a forced fumble.
Matt Rhule’s coaching resume also comes into view here. He is 71-63 over 11 years as a college head coach, with a 28-23 run at Temple from 2013 to 2016 and a 19-20 stretch at Baylor from 2017 to 2019.
After a brief stint with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, which ended after five games in the 2022 season, Nebraska hired him in 2023. He is 24-20 in four seasons with the Cornhuskers.
The series history leans Nebraska’s way, 6-2 overall. The Cornhuskers went 5-1 against Oregon from 1952 to 1986, won 35-32 at home in 2016, and the Ducks’ last victory in the matchup came in 2017, when they won 42-35 at Autzen Stadium.
The read on this game is straightforward: Nebraska brings a physical run game, a real quarterback, and a defense that has held up all year, including at Indiana. Oregon is coming off another gut-check and still doesn’t know who will take the first snap. That’s a lot to sort out against a team that has already proven it belongs in the same conversation as the Ducks’ other tough opponents.
In Other News...
Nebraska Has A Dylan Raiola Reunion Brewing With One Big Catch
The Ducks are heading into their matchup with Nebraska with a little more quarterback uncertainty than they would like, as Dante Moore remains in concussion protocol. If Moore cant go, Dylan Raiola would be the next man up, giving Oregon a familiar option with enough experience to handle a game of this size. It also would come with an extra layer of interest, since Raiola transferred from Nebraska and now could find himself on the opposite sideline from the program he once called home.
Raiolas recent play has been uneven, which is part of what makes this situation so intriguing for Oregon. He followed a strong showing against USC with a rough outing in the loss to UCLA, leaving the Ducks to weigh both his upside and the volatility that has shown up in his latest appearances. If he does get the nod, the game would carry obvious personal meaning for him, even before you get to the larger stakes of Oregon trying to keep its offense on track. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Bear Alexander Controversy Just Put Dan Lanning Under Pressure
Dan Lanning spent part of Oregons game against UCLA dealing with more than just the scoreboard, as defensive lineman Bear Alexander became the center of a nasty sequence that drew immediate scrutiny. Video showed Alexander punching UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava while Iamaleava was on the ground, and the play helped contribute to a knee injury that is expected to end the quarterbacks season.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney called the incident egregious and regrettable, and the aftermath now puts Lanning in a difficult public spot as Oregon moves forward. He said Alexander will not be disciplined, viewing the punch as an effort to dislodge the ball, while Alexander has reportedly expressed remorse and said he did not intend to cause harm. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Suddenly Looks Vulnerable As Nebraska Sees Its Opening
Nebraskas narrow loss to Indiana left the Cornhuskers with little margin for error, but it also changed the way the next stretch looks in the Big Ten race. A trip to Oregon now carries a little more intrigue than it did a week ago, because the Ducks have suddenly shown some cracks after their loss to UCLA, a team that has taken a clear step forward under new coach Bob Chesney.
Oregons defeat came with the added context of missing its starting quarterback, which only complicates the picture as the conference standings start to sort themselves out. Indiana is still unbeaten but looks beatable, Ohio State keeps rolling, and the Ducks are no longer sitting in quite the same tier of certainty, which gives Nebraska at least a reason to believe it can turn a tough road trip into something more meaningful for both the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff conversation. [Read more 🡒]