With one week of results in the books, Oregon’s 2026 schedule already looks a little different. Every one of the Ducks’ 11 remaining opponents has now taken the field, and that first round of evidence has been enough to shuffle the order from easiest to toughest.
This ranking is meant to track the games from least difficult to most difficult, and it’s the latest pass after earlier versions in January, June and just before the season. It will keep changing each week as the picture gets clearer.
- vs. Portland State on Sept. 18
The Vikings are still winless at 0-2, including an 0-1 mark in Big Sky play, and they’ve already taken losses to UC-Davis and San Diego State. Both games were closer than expected - a seven-point loss to UC-Davis and a 23-point defeat at San Diego State - but this is still a very middling FCS team.
Oregon beat Portland State by 74 points in 2023, and that kind of gap still feels about right. Don’t be surprised if more than 38 Ducks see the field on offense and defense.
- at Oklahoma State on Sept. 12
Oklahoma State gave this spot away. The Cowboys are the only other Oregon opponent besides Portland State to start 0-1, and a two-score loss to Tulsa didn’t help the case for a quick turnaround.
The roster was the hardest one on Oregon’s schedule to figure out because of more than 50 new transfers, many of them following Eric Morris from North Texas, but the early read is that this group may not be ready to make a major leap yet. The game is in Stillwater, and the near 100-degree temperatures will matter some, but the talent gap looks huge after one week.
- at Michigan State on Nov. 20
Michigan State is unbeaten, but the Spartans needed a late push to get past Toledo after trailing in the fourth quarter. They scored 10 unanswered points to give Pat Fitzgerald his first win in East Lansing.
This has been the easiest conference game on Oregon’s slate for a while, and that hasn’t changed. Michigan State is expected to be fighting to avoid 18th place in the conference, and while the road setting comes after Oregon’s toughest two-week stretch, it still doesn’t project as a major threat.
- vs. Northwestern on Oct. 31
Northwestern was the closest team in this tier, but the Wildcats still checked in here after beating South Dakota State by 16. That was a game that had some trap-game feel to it, and there was plenty to like about Aidan Chiles in his new setting, including a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown run. The upside is real, but compared with the stronger showings from others around Oregon’s schedule, this is where Northwestern lands for now.
- vs. Nebraska on Oct. 17
- vs. No.
16 Michigan on Nov. 14
Michigan slid three spots after a shaky opening-week showing. The Wolverines probably should be 0-1 after what happened against Western Michigan, and there’s no hiding the fact that they weren’t convincing.
Kyle Whittingham’s team may still be a work in progress, and Bryce Underwood may not even be the quarterback by the time Oregon sees them in mid-November. Whittingham didn’t exactly sound fully sold on him, and the former five-star hasn’t put everything together yet.
- vs. UCLA on Oct. 10
UCLA was one of the biggest risers after Bob Chesney’s debut. The Bruins were tied through three quarters before taking over late and scoring the final 21 points in a win over a quality opponent.
Wayne Knight, who followed Chesney from James Madison, scored three of UCLA’s six rushing touchdowns. That kind of start suggests the Bruins may have more juice than expected, and there’s even a path for them to reach Autzen unbeaten with San Diego State, Purdue and Maryland coming before that trip.
- vs. No.
17 Washington on Nov. 28
Washington didn’t do much to inspire confidence in the Apple Cup. The Cougars stayed in it until the final minutes, and neither side looked especially sharp.
You could make a case that the Cougar team from the last real Pac-12 season - the one before the league was blown up after 2023 - would have beaten its rival. Washington will have plenty of time to improve before the end of the season, but right now it still looks short on the kind of firepower needed to really challenge Oregon.
Even so, rivalry games have a way of being tighter than they should be.
- at Illinois on Oct. 24
Illinois moved up mostly because of what happened around it, not because of a huge leap from the Illini themselves. Still, they handled UAB without much trouble, building a 26-point lead before the Blazers added a late touchdown.
Katin Houser was sharp in his debut, nearly matching his four incompletions with three touchdown passes, and the run game did its part too. This one is away from Autzen, and the Illini are well-coached enough to keep their spot near the top of the list for now.
- at No. 14 USC on Sept. 26
- at No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 7
In Other News...
Makhi Hughes Just Delivered The Oregon Reminder Fans Didn't Want
Makhi Hughes never found much room to make an imprint during his lone season in Eugene, where Oregons ground game wound up being spread around and his own production stayed limited before he decided to move on. The former Tulane back arrived with some intrigue, but by the end of the year he was looking for a fresh start and a better fit elsewhere.
He found both back with Willie Fritz at Houston, and the debut was a sharp reminder of what the Ducks had once hoped to get. Hughes opened his Cougars tenure with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown, a useful first chapter for him and an unwelcome one for Oregon fans who were hoping his stop in Eugene would have gone differently. [Read more 🡒]
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For Oregon, that creates a strange sort of early read on a quarterback who did his part in a tight opener. Moore spoke after the game about the value of adversity, which fits the reality of a season that is only just beginning and already asking him to manage expectations as much as defenses. The Ducks got the result they needed, but the Heisman conversation around their quarterback suddenly looks a little less straightforward than the performance itself. [Read more 🡒]
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One of the more notable wrinkles was the way the guard spots changed during the contest, a sign that the staff may have been searching for the right combination or managing something minor along the interior. For a line that is usually judged by stability as much as performance, those in-game adjustments naturally raise a bigger question about how settled Oregon really is there, and whether the answers are as clear as the rest of the offense would like them to be. [Read more 🡒]